GIFT   OF 
Mrs.  William  Denman 


SOME  CHINESE  GHOSTS 


If  ye  desire  to  witness  prodigies  and  to  behold  marvels, 
Be  not  concerned  as  to  whether  the  mountains  are  distant 
or  the  rivers  far  away. 

KiN-Kou-Ki-KoAN 


SOME 
CHINESE  GHOSTS 


BY 


LAFCADIO    HEARN 

AUTHOR    OF    "EXOTICS    AND    RETROSPECTIVES,' 

*'IN   GHOSTLY  JAPAN,"    ' '  SHADOWINGS," 

44  A  JAPANESE  MISCELLANY  " 


BOSTON 
LITTLE,   BROWN,   AND   COMPANY 

1906 


/  / 

Copyright,  1887, 
BY  ROBERTS  BROTHERS. 


Published  October,   1906 


THE  U10VBKSITT  PRESS,   CAMBREDGB,   U.  B.  A. 


955 


jfrtrnd 
HENRY  EDWARD  RREHBIEL 

THE  MUSICIAN 

WHO,   SPEAKING  THE  SPEECH  OF  MELODY  UNTO  THE 

CHILDREN  OF  TIEN-H1A,  

UNTO  THE  WANDERING  TSING-JIN,   WHOSE  SKINS 

HAVE  THE  COLOR  OF  GOLD, 

MOVED  THEM  TO  MAKE  STRANGE  SOUNDS  UPON  THE 

SERPENT-BELLIED  SAN-HIEN  ; 
PERSUADED  THEM  TO  PLAT  FOR  ME  UPON  THE 

SHRIEKING   YA-HIEN  ; 
PREVAILED  ON  THEM  TO  SING  ME  A  SONG  OF  THEIR 

NATIVE   LAND, 

THE  SONG  OF  MOHL1-HWA, 
THE  SONG  OF   THE  JASMINE-FLOWER 


PREFACE 

I  THINK  that  my  best  apology  for  the 
insignificant  size  of  this  volume  is 
the  very  character  of  the  material  com 
posing  it.  In  preparing  the  legends  I 
sought  especially  for  weird  beauty ;  and 
I  could  not  forget  this  striking  obser 
vation  in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  "  Essay  on 
Imitations  of  the  Ancient  Ballad "  : 
"  The  supernatural,  though  appealing  to 
certain  powerful  emotions  very  widely 
and  deeply  sown  amongst  the  human 
race,  is,  nevertheless,  a  spring  which  is 
peculiarly  apt  to  lose  its  elasticity  by  being 
too  much  pressed  upon." 

Those  desirous  to  familiarize  them 
selves  with  Chinese  literature  as  a  wrhole 
have  had  the  way  made  smooth  for  them 


viii  Preface 

by  the  labors  of  linguists  like  Julien, 
Pavie,  Remusat,  De  Rosny,  Schlegel, 
Legge,  Hervey-Saint-Denys,  Williams. 
Biot,  Giles,  Wylie,  Deal,  and  many  other 
Sinologists.  To  such  great  explorers, 
indeed,  the  realm  of  Cathay  an  story 
belongs  by  right  of  discovery  and  con 
quest  ;  yet  the  humbler  traveller  who 
follows  wonderingly  after  them  into  the 
vast  and  mysterious  pleasure-grounds  of 
Chinese  fancy  may  surely  be  permitted 
to  cull  a  few  of  the  marvellous  flowers 
there  growing,  —  a  self-luminous  hwa- 
wang,  a  black  lily,  a  phosphoric  rose 
or  two,— as  souvenirs  of  his  curious 

voyage. 

L.   n. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  March  i5,  1886. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  SOUL  OF  THE  GREAT  BELL    .      .      .      1 1 

THE  STORY  OF  Mmc-Y 29 

THE  LEGEND  OF  Tcm-Niu  ....71 
THE  RETURN  OF  YEN-Tcnm-Kmo  .  .  97 
THE  TRADITION  OF  THE  TEA-PLANT  .  .  n5 
THE  TALE  OF  THE  PORCELAIN-GOD  .  .  i43 


NOTES 
GLOSSARY 


4 


The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell 


She  hath  spoken,  and  her  words  still  re 
sound  in  his  ears. 

HAO-KHIEOU-TCHOUAH  :  c.  ix. 


SOME    CHINESE 
GHOSTS 

THE  SOUL  OF  THE  GREAT  BELL 

THE  water-clock  marks  the  hour  in 
the  Ta-chung  sz  ,  —  in  the  Tower 
of  the  Great  Bell:  now  the  mallet  is 
lifted  to  smite  the  lips  of  the  metal 
monster, — the  vast  lips  inscribed  with 
Buddhist  texts  from  the  sacred  Fa-hwa- 
King,  from  the  chapters  of  the  holy 
Ling-y  en-King !  Hear  the  great  bell 
responding! — how  mighty  her  voice, 
though  tongueless!  —  KO-NGAI I  All 
the  little  dragons  on  the  high-tilted 
eaves  of  the  green  roofs  shiver  to  the 
tips  of  their  gilded  tails  under  that  deep 


1 4    The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell 

wave  of  sound  ;  all  the  porcelain  gar 
goyles  tremble  on  their  carven  perches  ; 
all  the  hundred  little  bells  of  the  pagodas 
quiver  with  desire  to  speak.  KO-NGAI I 
—  all  the  green-and-gold  tiles  of  the 
temple  are  vibrating ;  the  wooden  gold 
fish  above  them  are  writhing  against  the 
sky ;  the  uplifted  finger  of  Fo  shakes 
high  over  the  heads  of  the  worshippers 
through  the  blue  fog  of  incense !  KO 
NG AI !  —  What  a  thunder  tone  was 
that !  All  the  lacquered  goblins  on  the 
palace  cornices  wriggle  their  fire-colored 
tongues !  And  after  each  huge  shock, 
how  wondrous  the  multiple  echo  and 
the  great  golden  moan  and,  at  last,  the 
sudden  sibilant  sobbing  in  the  ears  when 
the  immense  tone  faints  away  in  broken 
whispers  of  silver,  —  as  though  a  woman 
should  whisper,  • '  Hid !  "  Even  so  the 
great  bell  hath  sounded  every  day  for 


The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell     i5 

well-nigh  five  hundred  years,  — Ko-Ngai: 
first  with  stupendous  clang,  then  with 
immeasurable  moan  of  gold,  then  with 
silver  murmuring  of  "  Hiai ! "  And 
there  is  not  a  child  in  all  the  many- 
colored  ways  of  the  old  Chinese  city 
who  does  not  know  the  story  of  the 
great  bell, — who  cannot  tell  you  why 
the  great  bell  says  Ko-Ngai  and  Hiai ! 


1 6     The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell 


NOW,  this  is  the  story  of  the  great 
bell  in  the  Ta-chung  sz',  as  the 
same  is  related  in  the  Pe-Hiao-Tou-Choue, 
written  by  the  learned  Yu-Pao-Tchen, 
of  the  City  of  Kwang-tchau-fu. 

Nearly  five  hundred  years  ago  the 
Celestially  August,  the  Son  of  Heaven, 
Yong-Lo,  of  the  "  Illustrious,"  or  Ming, 
dynasty,  commanded  the  worthy  official 
Kouan-Yu  that  he  should  have  a  bell 
made  of  such  size  that  the  sound  thereof 
might  be  heard  for  one  hundred  li. 
And  he  further  ordained  that  the  voice 
of  the  bell  should  be  strengthened  with 
brass,  and  deepened  with  gold,  and 
sweetened  with  silver  ;  and  that  the  face 
and  the  great  lips  of  it  should  be  graven 
with  blessed  sayings  from  the  sacred 
books,  and  that  it  should  be  suspended 


The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell     17 

in  the  centre  of  the  imperial  capital,  to 
sound  through  all  the  many-colored 
ways  of  the  City  of  Pe-king. 

Therefore  the  worthy  mandarin 
Kouan-Yu  assembled  the  master-mould 
ers  and  the  renowned  bellsmiths  of  the 
empire,  and  all  men  of  great  repute  and 
cunning  in  foundry  work ;  and  they 
measured  the  materials  for  the  alloy, 
and  treated  them  skilfully,  and  pre 
pared  the  moulds,  the  fires,  the  instru 
ments,  and  the  monstrous  melting-pot 
for  fusing  the  metal.  And  they  labored 
exceedingly,  like  giants, — neglecting 
only  rest  and  sleep  and  the  comforts 
of  life  ;  toiling  both  night  and  day  in 
obedience  to  Kouan-Yu,  and  striving 
in  all  things  to  do  the  behest  of  the 
Son  of  Heaven. 

But  when  the  metal  had  been  cast, 
and  the  earthen  mould  separated  from 


1 8     The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell 

the  glowing  casting,  it  was  discovered 
that,  despite  their  great  labor  and  cease 
less  care,  the  result  was  void  of  worth  ; 
for  the  metals  had  rebelled  one  against 
the  other, — the  gold  had  scorned  alli 
ance  with  the  brass,  the  silver  would  not 
mingle  with  the  molten  iron.  There 
fore  the  moulds  had  to  be  once  more 
prepared,  and  the  fires  rekindled,  and 
the  metal  remelted,  and  all  the  work 
tediously  and  toilsomely  repeated.  The 
Son  of  Heaven  heard,  and  was  angry, 
but  spake  nothing. 

A  second  time  the  bell  was  cast,  and 
the  result  was  even  worse.  Still  the 
metals  obstinately  refused  to  blend  one 
with  the  other ;  and  there  was  no  uni 
formity  in  the  bell,  and  the  sides  of  it 
were  cracked  and  fissured,  and  the  lips 
of  it  were  slagged  and  split  asunder ; 
so  that  all  the  labor  had  to  be  repeated 


The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell     19 

even  a  third  time,  to  the  great  dismay 
of  Kouan-Yu.  And  when  the  Son  of 
Heaven  heard  these  things,  he  was 
angrier  than  before  ;  and  sent  his  mes 
senger  to  Kouan-Yu  with  a  letter,  writ 
ten  upon  lemon-colored  silk,  and  sealed 
with  the  seal  of  the  Dragon,  containing 
these  words  :  — 

' '  From  the  Mighty  Yong-Lo,  the  Sub 
lime  Tait-Sung,  the  Celestial  and  August, 
—  whose  reign  is  called  ' Ming,'  —  to 
Kouan-Yu  the  Fuh-yin :  Twice  thou  hast 
betrayed  the  trust  we  have  deigned  gra 
ciously  to  place  in  thee ;  if  thou  fail  a  third 
time  in  fulfilling  our  command,  thy  head 
shall  be  severed  from  thy  neck.  Tremble, 
and  obey ! " 


20     The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell 


NOW,  Kouan-Yu  had  a  daughter  of 
dazzling  loveliness,  whose  name 
—  Ko-Ngai  —  was  ever  in  the  mouths 
of  poets,  and  whose  heart  was  even 
more  beautiful  than  her  face.  Ko-Ngai 
loved  her  father  with  such  love  that  she 
had  refused  a  hundred  worthy  suitors 
rather  than  make  his  home  desolate  by 
her  absence ;  and  when  she  had  seen 
the  awful  yellow  missive,  sealed  with 
the  Dragon-Seal,  she  fainted  away  with 
fear  for  her  father's  sake.  And  when 
her  senses  and  her  strength  returned  to 
her,  she  could  not  rest  or  sleep  for 
thinking  of  her  parent's  danger,  until 
she  had  secretly  sold  some  of  her  jewels, 
and  with  the  money  so  obtained  had 
hastened  to  an  astrologer,  and  paid  him 
a  great  price  to  advise  her  by  what 


The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell     21 

means  her  father  might  be  saved  from 
the   peril    impending    over    him.       So 
the  astrologer  made  observations  of  the 
heavens,  and  marked  the  aspect  of  the 
Silver  Stream  (which  we  call  the  Milky 
Way),   and  examined  the  signs  of  the 
Zodiac, — the    Hwang-tao,    or   Yellow 
Road, — and  consulted  the  table  of  the 
Five  Hin,  or  Principles  of  the  Universe, 
and  the   mystical  books  of  the  alche 
mists.     And    after  a  long    silence,    he 
made  answer  to   her,   saying:    "Gold 
and  brass  will  never  meet  in  wedlock, 
silver  and  iron  never  will  embrace,  until 
the  flesh  of  a  maiden  be  melted  in  the 
crucible  ;    until  the  blood  of  a  virgin  be 
mixed  with  the  metals  in  their  fusion." 
So   Ko-Ngai   returned  home   sorrowful 
at  heart ;    but  she  kept  secret  all  that 
she  had  heard,   and  told  no  one  what 
she  had  done. 


22     The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell 


A1  last  came  the  awful  day  when 
the  third  and  last  effort  to  cast 
the  great  bell  was  to  be  made ;  and  Ko- 
Ngai,  together  with  her  waiting-woman, 
accompanied  her  father  to  the  foundry, 
and  they  took  their  places  upon  a  plat 
form  overlooking  the  toiling  of  the 
moulders  and  the  lava  of  liquefied 
metal.  All  the  workmen  wrought  their 
tasks  in  silence ;  there  was  no  sound 
heard  but  the  muttering  of  the  fires. 
And  the  muttering  deepened  into  a  roar 
like  the  roar  of  typhoons  approaching, 
and  the  blood-red  lake  of  metal  slowly 
brightened  like  the  vermilion  of  a  sun 
rise,  and  the  vermilion  was  transmuted 
into  a  radiant  glow  of  gold,  and  the  gold 
whitened  blindingly,  like  the  silver  face 
of  a  full  moon.  Then  the  workers 


The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell     2  3 

ceased  to  feed  the  raving  flame,  and 
all  fixed  their  eyes  upon  the  eyes  of 
Kouan-Yu  ;  and  Kouan-Yu  prepared  to 
give  the  signal  to  cast. 

But  ere  ever  he  lifted  his  finger,  a 
cry  caused  him  to  turn  his  head  ;  and 
all  heard  the  voice  of  Ko-Ngai  sound 
ing  sharply  sweet  as  a  bird's  song  above 
the  great  thunder  of  the  fires,  —  "For 
thy  sake,  0  my  Father  !  "  And  even  as 
she  cried,  she  leaped  into  the  white 
flood  of  metal ;  and  the  lava  of  the 
furnace  roared  to  receive  her,  and 
spattered  monstrous  flakes  of  flame 
to  the  roof,  and  burst  over  the  verge 
of  the  earthen  crater,  and  cast  up  a 
whirling  fountain  of  many-colored  fires, 
and  subsided  quakingly,  with  light 
nings  and  with  thunders  and  with 
mutterings. 

Then    the   father    of  Ko-Ngai,   wild 


24     The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell 

with  his   grief,   would  have   leaped  in 
after   her,    but   that    strong    men  held 
him  back  and   kept   firm    grasp   upon 
him  until  he  had  fainted  away  and  they 
could  bear  him  like  one  dead  to   his 
home.     And  the  serving-woman  of  Ko- 
Ngai,    dizzy   and    speechless    for   pain, 
stood  before  the  furnace,   still  holding 
in    her   hands   a   shoe,    a   tiny,    dainty 
shoe,    with   embroidery   of  pearls   and 
flowers, — the    shoe    of    her   beautiful 
mistress     that     was.        For     she     had 
sought  to  grasp   Ko-Ngai  by  the  foot 
as  she  leaped,  but  had  only  been  able 
to    clutch    the    shoe,    and    the    pretty 
shoe  came   off  in   her  hand;    and  she 
continued  to  stare  at  it  like  one  gone 
mad. 

But  in  spite  of  all  these  things,  the 
command  of  the  Celestial  and  August 


The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell     25 

had  to  be  obeyed,  and  the  work  of  the 
moulders  to  be  finished,  hopeless  as 
the  result  might  be.  Yet  the  glow  of 
the  metal  seemed  purer  and  whiter  than 
before  ;  and  there  was  no  sign  of  the 
beautiful  body  that  had  been  entombed 
therein.  So  the  ponderous  casting  was 
made ;  and  lo !  when  the  metal  had 
become  cool,  it  was  found  that  the  bell 
was  beautiful  to  look  upon,  and  perfect 
in  form,  and  wonderful  in  color  above 
all  other  bells.  Nor  was  there  any 
trace  found  of  the  body  of  Ko-Ngai ; 
for  it  had  been  totally  absorbed  by  the 
precious  alloy,  and  blended  with  the 
well-blended  brass  and  gold,  with 
the  intermingling  of  the  silver  and  the 
iron.  And  when  they  sounded  the  bell, 
its  tones  were  found  to  be  deeper  and 
mellower  and  mightier  than  the  tones 
of  any  other  bell, — reaching  even  be- 


26     The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell 

yond  the  distance  of  one  hundred  li, 
like  a  pealing  of  summer  thunder  ;  and 
yet  also  like  some  vast  voice  uttering 
a  name,  a  woman's  name, — the  name 
of  Ko-Ngai  I 


The  Soul  of  the  Great  Bell     27 


A  ND  still,  between  each  mighty  stroke 
_/V  there  is  a  long  low  moaning 
heard  ;  and  ever  the  moaning  ends  with 
a  sound  of  sobbing  and  of  complaining, 
as  though  a  weeping  woman  should 
murmur,  "  Hid  I  "  And  still,  when 
the  people  hear  that  great  golden  moan 
they  keep  silence  ;  but  when  the  sharp, 
sweet  shuddering  comes  in  the  air,  and 
the  sobbing  of  "Hiai!"  then,  indeed, 
do  all  the  Chinese  mothers  in  all  the 
many-colored  ways  of  Pe-king  whisper 
to  their  little  ones  :  ' '  Listen  !  that  is 
Ko-Ngai  crying  for  her  shoe  I  That  is 
Ko-Ngai  calling  for  her  shoe  I " 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y 


THE  ANCIENT  WORDS  OF  KOUEI  —  MASTER 
OP  MUSICIANS  IN  THE  COURTS  OF  THE 
EMPEROR  YAO  :  — 

When  ye  make  to  resoand  the  stone  melo 
dious,  the  Ming-Khieou,  — 

When  ye  touch  the  lyre  that  is  called  Kin, 
or  the  guitar  that  is  called  Sse,  — 

Accompanying  their  sound  with  song,  — 

Then  do  the  grandfather  and  the  father 
return ; 

Then  do  the  ghosts  of  the  ancestors  come 
to  hear. 


THE   STORY   OF   MING-Y 

Sang  the  Poet  Tching-Koa :  "Surely  the 
Peach-Flowers  blossom  over  the  tomb 
of  Si"-Thao." 

DO  you  ask  me  who  she  was,  — the 
beautiful  Sie-Thao  ?  For  a  thou 
sand  years  and  more  the  trees  have  been 
whispering  above  her  bed  of  stone. 
And  the  syllables  of  her  name  come 
to  the  listener  with  the  lisping  of  the 
leaves  ;  with  the  quivering  of  many- 
fingered  boughs  ;  writh  the  fluttering  of 
lights  and  shadows  ;  with  the  breath, 
sweet  as  a  woman's  presence,  of  number 
less  savage  flowers,  — Sie-Thao.  But, 
saving  the  whispering  of  her  name, 
what  the  trees  say  cannot  be  under 
stood  ;  and  they  alone  remember  the 


3a        The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

years  of  Sie-Thao.  Something  about 
her  you  might,  nevertheless,  learn  from 
any  of  those  Kiang-kou-jin, — those  fa 
mous  Chinese  story-tellers,  who  nightly 
narrate  to  listening  crowds,  in  consid 
eration  of  a  few  tsien,  the  legends  of 
the  past.  Something  concerning  her 
you  may  also  find  in  the  book  entitled 
'*  Kin-Kou-Ki-Koan,"  which  signifies  in 
our  tongue  :  * '  The  Marvellous  Happen 
ings  of  Ancient  and  of  Recent  Times." 
And  perhaps  of  all  things  therein  writ 
ten,  the  most  marvellous  is  this  mem 
ory  of  Sie-Thao  :  — 

Five  hundred  years  ago,  in  the  reign 
of  the  Emperor  Houng-Wou,  whose 
dynasty  was  Ming,  there  lived  in  the 
City  of  Genii,  the  city  of  Kwang-tchau- 
fu,  a  man  celebrated  for  his  learning 
and  for  his  piety,  named  Tien-Pelou. 
This  Tien-Pelou  had  one  son,  a  beau- 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y        33 

tiful  boy,  who  for  scholarship  and  for 
bodily  grace  and  for  polite  accomplish 
ments  had  no  superior  among  the 
youths  of  his  age.  And  his  name  was 
Ming-Y. 

Now  when  the  lad  was  in  his  eigh 
teenth  summer,  it  came  to  pass  that 
Pelou,  his  father,  was  appointed  In 
spector  of  Public  Instruction  at  the 
city  of  Tching-tou ;  and  Ming-Y  ac 
companied  his  parents  thither.  Near 
the  city  of  Tching-tou  lived  a  rich  man 
of  rank,  a  high  commissioner  of  the 
government,  whose  name  was  Tchang, 
and  who  wanted  to  find  a  worthy 
teacher  for  his  children.  On  hearing 
of  the  arrival  of  the  new  Inspector  of 
Public  Instruction,  the  noble  Tchang 
visited  him  to  obtain  advice  in  this 
matter ;  and  happening  to  meet  and 

converse    with   Pelou's    accomplished 
3 


34       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

son,  immediately  engaged  Ming-Y  as 
a  private  tutor  for  his  family. 

Now  as  the  house  of  this  Lord 
Tchang  was  situated  several  miles  from 
town,  it  was  deemed  best  that  Ming-Y 
should  abide  in  the  house  of  his  em 
ployer.  Accordingly  the  youth  made 
ready  all  things  necessary  for  his  new 
sojourn ;  and  his  parents,  bidding  him 
farewell,  counselled  him  wisely,  and 
cited  to  him  the  words  of  Lao-tseu 
and  of  the  ancient  sages  : 

' '  By  a  beautiful  face  the  world  is  filled 
with  love;  but  Heaven  may  never  be  de 
ceived  thereby.  Shouldst  thou  behold  a 
woman  coming  from  the  East,  look  thou 
to  the  West;  shouldst  thou  perceive  a 
maiden  approaching  from  the  West,  turn 
thine  eyes  to  the  East." 

If  Ming-Y  did  not  heed  this  counsel 
in  after  days,  it  was  only  because  of 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       35 

his  youth  and  the  thoughtlessness  of  a 
naturally  joyous  heart. 

And  he  departed  to  abide  in  the 
house  of  Lord  Tchang,  while  the  au 
tumn  passed,  and  the  winter  also. 


36       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 


WHEN  the  time  of  the  second 
moon  of  spring  was  drawing 
near,  and  that  happy  day  which  the 
Chinese  call  Hoa-tchao,  or,  "The  Birth 
day  of  a  Hundred  Flowers,"  a  longing 
came  upon  Ming-Y  to  see  his  parents  ; 
and  he  opened  his  heart  to  the  good 
Tchang,  who  not  only  gave  him  the 
permission  he  desired,  but  also  pressed 
into  his  hand  a  silver  gift  of  two  ounces, 
thinking  that  the  lad  might  wish  to 
bring  some  little  memento  to  his  father 
and  mother.  For  it  is  the  Chinese 
custom,  on  the  feast  of  Hoa-tchao,  to 
make  presents  to  friends  and  relations. 
That  day  all  the  air  was  drowsy  with 
blossom  perfume,  and  vibrant  with  the 
droning  of  bees.  It  seemed  to  Ming-Y 
that  the  path  he  followed  had  not  been 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       37 

trodden  by  any  other  for  many  long 
years  ;  the  grass  was  tall  upon  it ;  vast 
trees  on  either  side  interlocked  their 
mighty  and  moss-grown  arms  above 
him,  beshadowing  the  way ;  but  the 
leafy  obscurities  quivered  with  bird- 
song,  and  the  deep  vistas  of  the  wood 
were  glorified  by  vapors  of  gold,  and 
odorous  with  flower-breathings  as  a 
temple  with  incense.  The  dreamy  joy 
of  the  day  entered  into  the  heart  of 
Ming-Y ;  and  he  sat  him  down  among 
the  young  blossoms,  under  the  branches 
swaying  against  the  violet  sky,  to  drink 
in  the  perfume  and  the  light,  and  to 
enjoy  the  great  sweet  silence.  Even 
while  thus  reposing,  a  sound  caused 
him  to  turn  his  eyes  toward  a  shady 
place  where  wild  peach-trees  were  in 
bloom  ;  and  he  beheld  a  young  woman, 
beautiful  as  the  pinkening  blossoms 


38       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

themselves,  trying  to  hide  among  them. 
Though  he  looked  for  a  moment  only, 
Ming-Y  could  not  avoid  discerning  the 
loveliness  of  her  face,  the  golden  purity 
of  her  complexion,  and  the  brightness 
of  her  long  eyes,  that  sparkled  under 
a  pair  of  brows  as  daintily  curved  as 
the  wings  of  the  silkworm  butterfly 
outspread.  Ming-Y  at  once  turned  his 
gaze  away,  and,  rising  quickly,  pro 
ceeded  on  his  journey.  But  so  much 
embarrassed  did  he  feel  at  the  idea  of 
those  charming  eyes  peeping  at  him 
through  the  leaves,  that  he  suffered  the 
money  he  had  been  carrying  in  his  sleeve 
to  fall,  without  being  aware  of  it.  A 
few  moments  later  he  heard  the  patter 
of  light  feet  running  behind  him,  and 
a  woman's  voice  calling  him  by  name. 
Turning  his  face  in  great  surprise,  he 
saw  a  comely  servant-maid,  who  said 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       39 

to  him,  "Sir,  my  mistress  bade  me 
pick  up  and  return  you  this  silver 
which  you  dropped  upon  the  road." 
Ming-Y  thanked  the  girl  gracefully, 
and  requested  her  to  convey  his  com 
pliments  to  her  mistress.  Then  he 
proceeded  on  his  way  through  the  per 
fumed  silence,  athwart  the  shadows 
that  dreamed  along  the  forgotten  path, 
dreaming  himself  also,  and  feeling  his 
heart  beating  with  strange  quickness  at 
the  thought  of  the  beautiful  being  that 
he  had  seen. 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y 


IT  was  just  such  another  day  when 
Ming-Y,  returning  by  the  same  path, 
paused  once  more  at  the  spot  where 
the  gracious  figure  had  momentarily 
appeared  before  him.  But  this  time 
he  was  surprised  to  perceive,  through 
a  long  vista  of  immense  trees,  a  dwell 
ing  that  had  previously  escaped  his 
notice,  — a  country  residence,  not  large, 
yet  elegant  to  an  unusual  degree.  The 
bright  blue  tiles  of  its  curved  and 
serrated  double  roof,  rising  above  the 
foliage,  seemed  to  blend  their  color 
with  the  luminous  azure  of  the  day ; 
the  green-and-gold  designs  of  its  carven 
porticos  were  exquisite  artistic  mock 
eries  of  leaves  and  flowers  bathed  in 
sunshine.  And  at  the  summit  of  ter 
race-steps  before  it,  guarded  by  great 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       4i 

porcelain  tortoises,  Ming-Y  saw  stand 
ing  the  mistress  of  the  mansion, — the 
idol  of  his  passionate  fancy, — accom 
panied  by  the  same  waiting-maid  who 
had  borne  to  her  his  message  of  grati 
tude.  While  Ming-Y  looked,  he  per 
ceived  that  their  eyes  were  upon  him ; 
they  smiled  and  conversed  together 
as  if  speaking  about  him;  and,  shy 
though  he  was,  the  youth  found  cour 
age  to  salute  the  fair  one  from  a 
distance.  To  his  astonishment,  the 
young  servant  beckoned  him  to  ap 
proach ;  and  opening  a  rustic  gate 
half  veiled  by  trailing  plants  bear 
ing  crimson  flowers,  Ming-Y  advanced 
along  the  verdant  alley  leading  to 
the  terrace,  with  mingled  feelings  of 
surprise  and  timid  joy.  As  he  drew 
near,  the  beautiful  lady  withdrew  from 
sight;  but  the  maid  waited  at  the 


42       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

broad  steps  to  receive  him,  and  said  as 
he  ascended : 

"  Sir,  my  mistress  understands  you 
wish  to  thank  her  for  the  trifling  ser 
vice  she  recently  bade  me  do  you,  and 
requests  that  you  will  enter  the  house, 
as  she  knows  you  already  by  repute, 
and  desires  to  have  the  pleasure  of  bid 
ding  you  good-day." 

Ming-Y  entered  bashfully,  his  feet 
making  no  sound  upon  a  matting  elas- 
tically  soft  as  forest  moss,  and  found 
himself  in  a  reception-chamber  vast, 
cool,  and  fragrant  with  scent  of  blos 
soms  freshly  gathered.  A  delicious 
quiet  pervaded  the  mansion ;  shadows 
of  flying  birds  passed  over  the  bands  of 
light  that  fell  through  the  half-blinds 
of  bamboo;  great  butterflies,  with  pin 
ions  of  fiery  color,  found  their  way  in, 
to  hover  a  moment  about  the  painted 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       43 

vases,  and  pass  out  again  into  the 
mysterious  woods.  And  noiselessly  as 
they,  the  young  mistress  of  the  mansion 
entered  by  another  door,  and  kindly 
greeted  the  boy,  who  lifted  his  hands  to 
his  breast  and  bowed  low  in  salutation. 
She  was  taller  than  he  had  deemed  her, 
and  supplely-slender  as  a  beauteous  lily ; 
her  black  hair  was  interwoven  with  the 
creamy  blossoms  of  the  cha-sha-kih; 
her  robes  of  pale  silk  took  shifting  tints 
when  she  moved,  as  vapors  change  hue 
with  the  changing  of  the  light. 

"If  I  be  not  mistaken,"  she  said, 
when  both  had  seated  themselves  after 
having  exchanged  the  customary  formal 
ities  of  politeness,  "my  honored  visitor 
is  none  other  than  Tien-chou,  surnamed 
Ming-Y,  educator  of  the  children  of  my 
respected  relative,  the  High  Commis 
sioner  Tchang.  As  the  family  of  Lord 


44       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

Tchang  is  my  family  also,  I  cannot  but 
consider  the  teacher  of  his  children  as 
one  of  my  own  kin." 

"Lady,"  replied  Ming-Y,  not  a  little 
astonished,  "may  I  dare  to  inquire  the 
name  of  your  honored  family,  and  to 
ask  the  relation  which  you  hold  to  my 
noble  patron?" 

"The  name  of  my  poor  family," 
responded  the  comely  lady,  "is  Ping, 
—  an  ancient  family  of  the  city  of 
Tching-tou.  I  am  the  daughter  of  a 
certain  Sie  of  Moun-hao ;  Sie  is  my 
name,  likewise ;  and  I  was  married  to  a 
young  man  of  the  Ping  family,  whose 
name  was  Khang.  By  this  marriage  I 
became  related  to  your  excellent  patron ; 
but  my  husband  died  soon  after  our 
wedding,  and  I  have  chosen  this  solitary 
place  to  reside  in  during  the  period  of 
my  widowhood." 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       45 

There  was  a  drowsy  music  in  her 
voice,  as  of  the  melody  of  brooks,  the 
murmurings  of  spring;  and  such  a 
strange  grace  in  the  manner  of  her 
speech  as  Ming-Y  had  never  heard  be 
fore.  Yet,  on  learning  that  she  was  a 
widow,  the  youth  would  not  have  pre 
sumed  to  remain  long  in  her  presence 
without  a  formal  invitation ;  and  after 
having  sipped  the  cup  of  rich  tea  pre 
sented  to  him,  he  arose  to  depart.  Sie 
would  not  suffer  him  to  go  so  quickly. 

44 Nay,  friend,"  she  said;  "stay  yet 
a  little  while  in  my  house,  I  pray  you ; 
for,  should  your  honored  patron  ever 
learn  that  you  had  been  here,  and  that 
I  had  not  treated  you  as  a  respected 
guest,  and  regaled  you  even  as  I  would 
him,  I  know  that  he  would  be  greatly 
angered.  Remain  at  least  to  supper." 

So   Ming-Y  remained,    rejoicing  se- 


46       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

cretly  in  his  heart,  for  Sie  seemed  to 
him  "the  fairest  and  sweetest  being  he 
had  ever  known,  and  he  felt  that  he 
loved  her  even  more  than  his  father  and 
his  mother.  And  while  they  talked  the 
long  shadows  of  the  evening  slowly 
blended  into  one  violet  darkness  ;  the 
great  citron-light  of  the  sunset  faded 
out ;  and  those  starry  beings  that  are 
called  the  Three  Councillors,  who  pre 
side  over  life  and  death  and  the  des 
tinies  of  men,  opened  their  cold  bright 
eyes  in  the  northern  sky.  Within  the 
mansion  of  Sie  the  painted  lanterns 
were  lighted ;  the  table  was  laid  for 
the  evening  repast;  and  Ming-Y  took 
his  place  at  it,  feeling  little  inclination 
to  eat,  and  thinking  only  of  the  charm 
ing  face  before  him.  Observing  that 
he  scarcely  tasted  the  dainties  laid  upon 
his  plate,  Sie  pressed  her  young  guest 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       47 

to  partake  of  wine ;  and  they  drank 
several  cups  together.  It  was  a  purple 
wine,  so  cool  that  the  cup  into  which 
it  was  poured  became  covered  with 
vapory  dew ;  yet  it  seemed  to  warm 
the  veins  with  strange  fire.  To  Ming-Y, 
as  he  drank,  all  things  became  more 
luminous  as  by  enchantment ;  the  walls 
of  the  chamber  appeared  to  recede, 
and  the  roof  to  heighten ;  the  lamps 
glowed  like  stars  in  their  chains,  and 
the  voice  of  Sie  floated  to  the  boy's 
ears  like  some  far  melody  heard  through 
the  spaces  of  a  drowsy  night.  His 
heart  swelled ;  his  tongue  loosened ; 
and  words  flitted  from  his  lips  that  he 
had  fancied  he  could  never  dare  to 
utter.  Yet  Sie  sought  not  to  restrain 
him ;  her  lips  gave  no  smile ;  but  her 
long  bright  eyes  seemed  to  laugh  with 
pleasure  at  his  words  of  praise,  and  to 


48       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

return  his  gaze  of  passionate  admira 
tion  with  affectionate  interest. 

"I  have  heard/'  she  said,  "of  your 
rare  talent,  and  of  your  many  elegant 
accomplishments.  I  know  how  to  sing 
a  little,  although  I  cannot  claim  to 
possess  any  musical  learning ;  and  now 
that  I  have  the  honor  of  finding  my 
self  in  the  society  of  a  musical  pro 
fessor,  I  will  venture  to  lay  modesty 
aside,  and  beg  you  to  sing  a  few  songs 
with  me.  I  should  deem  it  no  small 
gratification  if  you  would  condescend 
to  examine  my  musical  compositions." 

"The  honor  and  the  gratification, 
dear  lady,"  replied  Ming-Y,  "will  be 
mine;  and  I  feel  helpless  to  express 
the  gratitude  which  the  offer  of  so  rare 
a  favor  deserves." 

The  serving-maid,  obedient  to  the 
summons  of  a  little  silver  gong,  brought 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       4g 

in  the  music  and  retired.  Ming-Y  took 
the  manuscripts,  and  began  to  examine 
them  with  eager  delight.  The  paper 
upon  which  they  were  written  had  a 
pale  yellow  tint,  and  was  light  as  a 
fabric  of  gossamer ;  but  the  characters 
were  antiquely  beautiful,  as  though  they 
had  been  traced  by  the  brush  of  He'i- 
song  Che-Tchoo  himself, — that  divine 
Genius  of  Ink,  who  is  no  bigger  than 
a  fly;  and  the  signatures  attached  to 
the  compositions  were  the  signatures 
of  Youen-tchin,  Kao-pien,  and  Thou- 
mou, — mighty  poets  and  musicians  of 
the  dynasty  of  Thang!  Ming-Y  could 
not  repress  a  scream  of  delight  at  the 
sight  of  treasures  so  inestimable  and 
so  unique ;  scarcely  could  he  summon 
resolution  enough  to  permit  them  to 
leave  his  hands  even  for  a  moment. 
4  *  0  Lady !  "  he  cried,  * '  these  are 


5o       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

veritably  priceless  things,  surpassing  in 
worth  the  treasures  of  all  kings.  This 
indeed  is  the  handwriting  of  those 
great  masters  who  sang  five  hundred 
years  before  our  birth.  How  marvel 
lously  it  has  been  preserved!  Is  not 
this  the  wondrous  ink  of  which  it  was 
written :  Po-nien-jou-chi,  i-tien-jou-ki,  — 
'  After  centuries  I  remain  firm  as 
stone,  and  the  letters  that  I  make  like 
lacquer '  ?  And  how  divine  the  charm 
of  this  composition !  — the  song  of  Kao- 
pien,  prince  of  poets,  and  Governor  of 
Sze-tchouen  five  hundred  years  ago !  " 

"Kao-pien!  darling  Kao-pien!" 
murmured  Sie,  with  a  singular  light  in 
her  eyes.  "  Kao-pien  is  also  my  favor 
ite.  Dear  Ming-Y,  let  us  chant  his 
verses  together,  to  the  melody  of  old, 
— the  music  of  those  grand  years  when 
men  were  nobler  and  wiser  than  to-day. " 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       5i 

And  their  voices  rose  through  the 
perfumed  night  like  the  voices  of  the 
wonder-birds, — of  the  Fung-hoang, — 
blending  together  in  liquid  sweetness. 
Yet  a  moment,  and  Ming-Y,  overcome 
by  the  witchery  of  his  companion's 
voice,  could  only  listen  in  speechless 
ecstasy,  while  the  lights  of  the  chamber 
swam  dim  before  his  sight,  and  tears  of 
pleasure  trickled  down  his  cheeks. 

So  the  ninth  hour  passed ;  and  they 
continued  to  converse,  and  to  drink 
the  cool  purple  wine,  and  to  sing  the 
songs  of  the  years  of  Thang,  until 
far  into  the  night.  More  than  once 
Ming-Y  thought  of  departing ;  but  each 
time  Sie  would  begin,  in  that  silver- 
sweet  voice  of  hers,  so  wondrous  a  story 
of  the  great  poets  of  the  past,  and  of 
the  women  whom  they  loved,  that  he 
became  as  one  entranced ;  or  she  would 


52       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

sing  for  him  a  song  so  strange  that  all 
his  senses  seemed  to  die  except  that  of 
hearing.  And  at  last,  as  she  paused  to 
pledge  him  in  a  cup  of  wine,  Ming-Y 
could  not  restrain  himself  from  putting 
his  arm  about  her  round  neck  and 
drawing  her  dainty  head  closer  to  him, 
and  kissing  the  lips  that  were  so  much 
ruddier  and  sweeter  than  the  wine. 
Then  their  lips  separated  no  more ;  — 
the  night  grew  old,  and  they  knew 
it  not. 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       53 

THE  birds  awakened,  the  flowers 
opened  their  eyes  to  the  rising 
sun,  and  Ming-Y  found  himself  at  last 
compelled  to  bid  his  lovely  enchantress 
farewell.  Sie,  accompanying  him  to 
the  terrace,  kissed  him  fondly  and  said, 
"Dear  boy,  come  hither  as  often  as 
you  are  able, — as  often  as  your  heart 
whispers  you  to  come.  I  know  that 
you  are  not  of  those  without  faith  and 
truth,  who  betray  secrets ;  yet,  being 
so  young,  you  might  also  be  sometimes 
thoughtless ;  and  I  pray  you  never  to 
forget  that  only  the  stars  have  been  the 
witnesses  of  our  love.  Speak  of  it  to 
no  living  person,  dearest;  and  take 
with  you  this  little  souvenir  of  our 
happy  night." 

And  she  presented  him  with  an  ex 
quisite    and    curious    little    thing,  —  a 


54       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

paper-weight  in  likeness  of  a  couchant 
lion,  wrought  from  a  jade-stone  yellow 
as  that  created  by  a  rainbow  in  honor 
of  Kong-fu-tze.  Tenderly  the  boy 
kissed  the  gift  and  the  beautiful  hand 
that  gave  it.  4*  May  the  Spirits  punish 
me,"  he  vowed,  "if  ever  I  knowingly 
give  you  cause  to  reproach  me,  sweet 
heart!"  And  they  separated  with 
mutual  vows. 

That  morning,  on  returning  to  the 
house  of  Lord  Tchang,  Ming-Y  told  the 
first  falsehood  which  had  ever  passed 
his  lips.  He  averred  that  his  mother 
had  requested  him  thenceforward  to 
pass  his  nights  at  home,  now  that  the 
weather  had  become  so  pleasant ;  for, 
though  the  way  was  somewhat  long, 
he  was  strong  and  active,  and  needed 
both  air  and  healthy  exercise.  Tchang 
believed  all  Ming-Y  said,  and  offered  no 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       55 

objection.  Accordingly  the  lad  found 
himself  enabled  to  pass  all  his  evenings 
at  the  house  of  the  beautiful  Sie.  Each 
night  they  devoted  to  the  same  pleas 
ures  which  had  made  their  first  ac 
quaintance  so  charming :  they  sang  and 
conversed  by  turns ;  they  played  at 
chess, — the  learned  game  invented  by 
Wu-Wang,  which  is  an  imitation  of 
war;  they  composed  pieces  of  eighty 
rhymes  upon  the  flowers,  the  trees, 
the  clouds,  the  streams,  the  birds,  the 
bees.  But  in  all  accomplishments  Sie 
far  excelled  her  young  sweetheart. 
Whenever  they  played  at  chess,  it 
was  always  Ming-Y's  general,  Ming-Y's 
tsiang,  who  was  surrounded  and  van 
quished;  when  they  composed  verses, 
Sie's  poems  were  ever  superior  to  his 
in  harmony  of  word-coloring,  in  ele 
gance  of  form,  in  classic  loftiness  of 


56       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

thought.  And  the  themes  they  selected 
were  always  the  most  difficult,  — those 
of  the  poets  of  the  Thang  dynasty ;  the 
songs  they  sang  were  also  the  songs 
of  five  hundred  years  before, — the 
songs  of  Youen-tchin,  of  Thou-mou,  of 
Kao-pien  above  all,  high  poet  and  ruler 
of  the  province  of  Sze-tchouen. 

So  the  summer  waxed  and  waned 
upon  their  love,  and  the  luminous  au 
tumn  came,  with  its  vapors  of  phantom 
gold,  its  shadows  of  magical  purple. 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       57 


THEN  it  unexpectedly  happened  that 
the  father  of  Ming-Y,  meeting  his 
son's  employer  at  Tching-tou,  was  asked 
by  him :  '  *  Why  must  your  boy  con 
tinue  to  travel  every  evening  to  the 
city,  now  that  the  winter  is  approach 
ing?  The  way  is  long,  and  when  he  re 
turns  in  the  morning  he  looks  fordone 
with  weariness.  Why  not  permit  him 
to  slumber  in  my  house  during  the 
season  of  snow?"  And  the  father  of 
Ming-Y,  greatly  astonished,  responded : 
"  Sir,  my  son  has  not  visited  the  city, 
nor  has  he  been  to  our  house  all  this 
summer.  I  fear  that  he  must  have 
acquired  wicked  habits,  and  that  he 
passes  his  nights  in  evil  company, — 
perhaps  in  gaming,  or  in  drinking 
with  the  women  of  the  flower-boats." 


58       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

But  the  High  Commissioner  returned : 
*  *  Nay !  that  is  not  to  be  thought  of. 
I  have  never  found  any  evil  in  the  boy, 
and  there  are  no  taverns  nor  flower- 
boats  nor  any  places  of  dissipation  in 
our  neighborhood.  No  doubt  Ming-Y 
has  found  some  amiable  youth  of  his 
own  age  with  whom  to  spend  his  even 
ings,  and  only  told  me  an  untruth  for 
fear  that  I  would  not  otherwise  permit 
him  to  leave  my  residence.  I  beg  that 
you  will  say  nothing  to  him  until  I 
shall  have  sought  to  discover  this  mys 
tery  ;  and  this  very  evening  I  shall  send 
my  servant  to  follow  after  him,  and  to 
watch  whither  he  goes/* 

Pelou  readily  assented  to  this  propo 
sal,  and  promising  to  visit  Tchang 
the  following  morning,  returned  to  his 
home.  In  the  evening,  when  Ming-Y 
left  the  house  of  Tchang,  a  servant 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       59 

followed  him  unobserved  at  a  distance. 
But  on  reaching  the  most  obscure 
portion  of  the  road,  the  boy  disap 
peared  from  sight  as  suddenly  as 
though  the  earth  had  swallowed  him. 
After  having  long  sought  after  him 
in  vain,  the  domestic  returned  in  great 
bewilderment  to  the  house,  and  related 
what  had  taken  place.  Tchang  imme 
diately  sent  a  messenger  to  Pelou. 

In  the  mean  time  Ming-Y,  entering 
the  chamber  of  his  beloved,  was  sur 
prised  and  deeply  pained  to  find  her 
in  tears.  "Sweetheart,"  she  sobbed, 
wreathing  her  arms  around  his  neck, 
"  we  are  about  to  be  separated  forever, 
because  of  reasons  which  I  cannot  tell 
you.  From  the  very  first  I  knew  this 
must  come  to  pass ;  and  nevertheless 
it  seemed  to  me  for  the  moment  so 
cruelly  sudden  a  loss,  so  unexpected 


60       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

a  misfortune,  that  I  could  not  prevent 
myself  from  weeping !  After  this  night 
we  shall  never  see  each  other  again, 
beloved,  and  I  know  that  you  will  not 
be  able  to  forget  me  while  you  live ; 
but  I  know  also  that  you  will  become 
a  great  scholar,  and  that  honors  and 
riches  will  be  showered  upon  you,  and 
that  some  beautiful  and  loving  woman 
will  console  you  for  my  loss.  And 
now  let  us  speak  no  more  of  grief;  but 
let  us  pass  this  last  evening  joyously, 
so  that  your  recollection  of  me  may 
not  be  a  painful  one,  and  that  you 
may  remember  my  laughter  rather  than 
my  tears." 

She  brushed  the  bright  drops  away, 
and  brought  wine  and  music  and  the 
melodious  kin  of  seven  silken  strings, 
and  would  not  suffer  Ming-Y  to  speak 
for  one  moment  of  the  coming  separa- 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       61 

tion.  And  she  sang  him  an  ancient 
song  about  the  calmness  of  summer 
lakes  reflecting  the  blue  of  heaven 
only,  and  the  calmness  of  the  heart 
also,  before  the  clouds  of  care  and  of 
grief  and  of  weariness  darken  its  little 
world.  Soon  they  forgot  their  sorrow 
in  the  joy  of  song  and  wine  ;  and  those 
last  hours  seemed  to  Ming-Y  more 
celestial  than  even  the  hours  of  their 
first  bliss. 

But  when  the  yellow  beauty  of  morn 
ing  came  their  sadness  returned,  and 
they  wept.  Once  more  Sie  accompa 
nied  her  lover  to  the  terrace-steps  ;  and 
as  she  kissed  him  farewell,  she  pressed 
into  his  hand  a  parting  gift, — a  little 
brush-case  of  agate,  wonderfully  chis 
elled,  and  worthy  the  table  of  a  great 
poet.  And  they  separated  forever, 
shedding  many  tears. 


62       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

STILL  Ming-Y  could  not  believe  it 
was  an  eternal  parting.  "No!" 
he  thought,  ' '  I  shall  visit  her  to 
morrow  ;  for  I  cannot  now  live  with 
out  her,  and  I  feel  assured  that  she 
cannot  refuse  to  receive  me/'  Such 
were  the  thoughts  that  filled  his  mind 
as  he  reached  the  house  of  Tchang,  to 
find  his  father  and  his  patron  standing 
on  the  porch  awaiting  him.  Ere  he 
could  speak  a  word,  Pelou  demanded: 
"Son,  in  what  place  have  you  been 
passing  your  nights?" 

Seeing  that  his  falsehood  had  been 
discovered,  Ming-Y  dared  not  make 
any  reply,  and  remained  abashed  and 
silent,  with  bowed  head,  in  the  pres 
ence  of  his  father.  Then  Pelou,  strik 
ing  the  boy  violently  with  his  staff, 
commanded  him  to  divulge  the  secret ; 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       63 

and  at  last,  partly  through  fear  of  his 
parent,  and  partly  through  fear  of  the 
law  which  ordains  that  ' '  the  son  refus 
ing  to  obey  his  father  shall  be  punished  with 
one  hundred  blows  of  the  bamboo,"  Ming-Y 
faltered  out  the  history  of  his  love. 

Tchang  changed  color  at  the  boy's 
tale.  "Child,"  exclaimed  the  High 
Commissioner,  * '  I  have  no  relative  of 
the  name  of  Ping ;  I  have  never  heard 
of  the  woman  you  describe ;  I  have 
never  heard  even  of  the  house  which 
you  speak  of.  But  I  know  also  that 
you  cannot  dare  to  lie  to  Pelou,  your 
honored  father;  there  is  some  strange 
delusion  in  all  this  affair." 

Then  Ming-Y  produced  the  gifts  that 
Sie  had  given  him,  — the  lion  of  yellow 
jade,  the  brush-case  of  carven  agate, 
also  some  original  compositions  made 
by  the  beautiful  lady  herself.  The  as- 


64       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

tonishment  of  Tchang  was  now  shared 
by  Pelou.  Both  observed  that  the 
brush-case  of  agate  and  the  lion  of 
jade  bore  the  appearance  of  objects 
that  had  lain  buried  in  the  earth  for 
centuries,  and  were  of  a  workmanship 
beyond  the  power  of  living  man  to  imi 
tate  ;  while  the  compositions  proved 
to  be  veritable  master-pieces  of  poetry, 
written  in  the  style  of  the  poets  of  the 
dynasty  of  Thang. 

"Friend  Pelou,"  cried  the  High 
Commissioner,  '  *  let  us  immediately  ac 
company  the  boy  to  the  place  where 
he  obtained  these  miraculous  things, 
and  apply  the  testimony  of  our  senses 
to  this  mystery.  The  boy  is  no  doubt 
telling  the  truth ;  yet  his  story  passes 
my  understanding."  And  all  three  pro 
ceeded  toward  the  place  of  the  habita 
tion  of  Sie. 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       65 


BUT  when  they  had  arrived  at  the 
shadiest  part  of  the  road,  where 
the  perfumes  were  most  sweet  and  the 
mosses  were  greenest,  and  the  fruits 
of  the  wild  peach  flushed  most  pinkly, 
Ming-Y,  gazing  through  the  groves, 
uttered  a  cry  of  dismay.  Where  the 
azure-tiled  roof  had  risen  against  the 
sky,  there  was  now  only  the  blue  empti 
ness  of  air ;  where  the  green-and-gold 
facade  had  been,  there  was  visible  only 
the  flickering  of  leaves  under  the  aureate 
autumn  light;  and  where  the  broad 
terrace  had  extended,  could  be  dis 
cerned  only  a  ruin, — a  tomb  so  an 
cient,  so  deeply  gnawed  by  moss,  that 
the  name  graven  upon  it  was  no  longer 
decipherable.  The  home  of  Sie  had 
disappeared ! 


66       The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

All  suddenly  the  High  Commis 
sioner  smote  his  forehead  with  his 
hand,  and  turning  to  Pelou,  recited 
the  well-known  verse  of  the  ancient 
poet  Tching-Kou :  — 

' '  Surely  the  peach-flowers  blossom  over 
thetombofSIE-THAO." 

"Friend  Pelou/'  continued  Tchang, 
' '  the  beauty  who  bewitched  your  son 
was  no  other  than  she  whose  tomb 
stands  there  in  ruin  before  us !  Did 
she  not  say  she  was  wedded  to  Ping- 
Khang?  There  is  no  family  of  that 
name,  but  Ping-Khang  is  indeed  the 
name  of  a  broad  alley  in  the  city  near. 
There  was  a  dark  riddle  in  all  that  she 
said.  She  called  herself  Sie  of  Moun- 
Hiao  :  there  is  no  person  of  that  name ; 
there  is  no  street  of  that  name;  but 
the  Chinese  characters  Moun  and  hiao, 
placed  together,  form  the  character 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       67 

'Kiao.'  Listen!  The  alley  Ping-Khang, 
situated  in  the  street  Kiao,  was  the 
place  where  dwelt  the  great  courtesans 
of  the  dynasty  of  Thang !  Did  she 
not  sing  the  songs  of  Kao-pien?  And 
upon  the  brush-case  and  the  paper 
weight  she  gave  your  son,  are  there 
not  characters  which  read,  '  Pare  object 
of  art  belonging  to  Kao,  of  the  city  of 
Pho-hai '  ?  That  city  no  longer  exists  ; 
but  the  memory  of  Kao-pien  remains, 
for  he  was  governor  of  the  province  of 
Sze-tchouen,  and  a  mighty  poet.  And 
when  he  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Chou, 
was  not  his  favorite  the  beautiful  wan 
ton  Sie,  —  Sie-Thao,  unmatched  for 
grace  among  all  the  women  of  her 
day?  It  was  he  who  made  her  a  gift 
of  those  manuscripts  of  song;  it  was 
he  who  gave  her  those  objects  of  rare 
art.  Sie-Thao  died  not  as  other  women 


68        The  Story  of  Ming-Y 

die.  Her  limbs  may  have  crumbled  to 
dust ;  yet  something  of  her  still  lives 
in  this  deep  wood, — her  Shadow  still 
haunts  this  shadowy  place." 

Tchang  ceased  to  speak.  A  vague 
fear  fell  upon  the  three.  The  thin 
mists  of  the  morning  made  dim  the 
distances  of  green,  and  deepened  the 
ghostly  beauty  of  the  woods.  A  faint 
breeze  passed  by,  leaving  a  trail  of 
blossom-scent, — a  last  odor  of  dying 
flowers, — -thin  as  that  which  clings  to 
the  silk  of  a  forgotten  robe;  and,  as 
it  passed,  the  trees  seemed  to  whisper 
across  the  silence,  "  Sie-Thao." 


The  Story  of  Ming-Y       69 

FEARING  greatly  for  his  son,  Pelou 
sent  the  lad  away  at  once  to  the 
city  of  Kwang-tchau-fu.  And  there,  in 
after  years,  Ming-Y  obtained  high  digni 
ties  and  honors  by  reason  of  his  talents 
and  his  learning;  and  he  married  the 
daughter  of  an  illustrious  house,  by 
whom  he  became  the  father  of  sons 
and  daughters  famous  for  their  virtues 
and  their  accomplishments.  Never 
could  he  forget  Sie-Thao ;  and  yet  it 
is  said  that  he  never  spoke  of  her,  — 
not  even  when  his  children  begged 
him  to  tell  them  the  story  of  two 
beautiful  objects  that  always  lay  upon 
his  writing-table :  a  lion  of  yellow  jade, 
and  a  brush-case  of  carven  agate. 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 


A  SOUND  OF  GONGS,  A  SOUND  OF  SONG,  THE 

SONG   OF   THE   BUILDERS   BUILDING   THE 
DWELLINGS  OF  THE  DEAD  :  

Khia  tcht  ying-ying . 
Tod  tchi  houng-houng. 
Tcho  tchi  tong-tdng. 
Sio  lid  ping-ping . 


THE   LEGEND   OF   TCHI-NIU. 

IN  the  quaint  commentary  accom 
panying  the  text  of  that  holy  book 
of  Lao-tseu  called  Kan-ing-p'ien  may 
be  found  a  little  story  so  old  that  the 
name  of  the  one  who  first  told  it  has 
been  forgotten  for  a  thousand  years, 
yet  so  beautiful  that  it  lives  still  in  the 
memory  of  four  hundred  millions  of 
people,  like  a  prayer  that,  once  learned, 
is  forever  remembered.  The  Chinese 
writer  makes  no  mention  of  any  city 
nor  of  any  province,  although  even  in 
the  relation  of  the  most  ancient  tradi 
tions  such  an  omission  is  rare ;  we  are 
only  told  that  the  name  of  the  hero 


7^     The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

of  the  legend  was  Tong-yong,  and 
that  he  lived  in  the  years  of  the  great 
dynasty  of  Han,  some  twenty  centuries 
ago. 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu     76 


TONG-YONG'S  mother  had  died 
while  he  was  yet  an  infant;  and 
when  he  became  a  youth  of  nineteen 
years  his  father  also  passed  away,  leav 
ing  him  utterly  alone  in  the  world, 
and  without  resources  of  any  sort ;  for, 
being  a  very  poor  man,  Tong's  father 
had  put  himself  to  great  straits  to  edu 
cate  the  lad,  and  had  not  been  able  to 
lay  by  even  one  copper  coin  of  his 
earnings.  And  Tong  lamented  greatly 
to  find  himself  so  destitute  that  he  could 
not  honor  the  memory  of  that  good 
father  by  having  the  customary  rites  of 
burial  performed,  and  a  carven  tomb 
erected  upon  a  propitious  site.  The 
poor  only  are  friends  of  the  poor ;  and 
among  all  those  whom  Tong  knew, 
there  was  no  one  able  to  assist  him 


76     The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

in  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  funeral. 
In  one  way  only  could  the  youth  obtain 
money,  —  by  selling  himself  as  a  slave 
to  some  rich  cultivator ;  and  this  he  at 
last  decided  to  do.  In  vain  his  friends 
did  their  utmost  to  dissuade  him ;  and 
to  no  purpose  did  they  attempt  to  delay 
the  accomplishment  of  his  sacrifice  by 
beguiling  promises  of  future  aid.  Tong 
only  replied  that  he  would  sell  his  free 
dom  a  hundred  times,  if  it  were  pos 
sible,  rather  than  suffer  his  father's 
memory  to  remain  unhonored  even  for 
a  brief  season.  And  furthermore,  con 
fiding  in  his  youth  and  strength,  he 
determined  to  put  a  high  price  upon 
his  servitude, — a  price  which  would 
enable  him  to  build  a  handsome  tomb, 
but  which  it  would  be  well-nigh  impos 
sible  for  him  ever  to  repay. 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu     77 


A  CCORDINGLY  he  repaired  to  the 
2\.  broad  public  place  where  slaves 
and  debtors  were  exposed  for  sale,  and 
seated  himself  upon  a  bench  of  stone, 
having  affixed  to  his  shoulders  a  pla 
card  inscribed  with  the  terms  of  his 
servitude  and  the  list  of  his  qualifica 
tions  as  a  laborer.  Many  who  read 
the  characters  upon  the  placard  smiled 
disdainfully  at  the  price  asked,  and 
passed  on  without  a  word ;  others 
lingered  only  to  question  him  out 
of  simple  curiosity ;  some  commended 
him  with  hollow  praise;  some  openly 
mocked  his  unselfishness,  and  laughed 
at  his  childish  piety.  Thus  many  hours 
wearily  passed,  and  Tong  had  almost 
despaired  of  finding  a  master,  when 
there  rode  up  a  high  official  of  the 


78    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

province,  — a  grave  and  handsome  man, 
lord  of  a  thousand  slaves,  and  owner 
of  vast  estates.  Reining  in  his  Tartar 
horse,  the  official  halted  to  read  the 
placard  and  to  consider  the  value  of 
the  slave.  He  did  not  smile,  or  ad 
vise,  or  ask  any  questions ;  but  having 
observed  the  price  asked,  and  the  fine 
strong  limbs  of  the  youth,  purchased 
him  without  further  ado,  merely  order 
ing  his  attendant  to  pay  the  sum  and 
to  see  that  the  necessary  papers  were 
made  out. 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu     79 


THUS  Tong  found  himself  enabled 
to  fulfil  the  wish  of  his  heart, 
and  to  have  a  monument  built  which, 
although  of  small  size,  was  destined  to 
delight  the  eyes  of  all  who  beheld  it, 
being  designed  by  cunning  artists  and 
executed  by  skilful  sculptors.  And 
while  it  was  yet  designed  only,  the 
pious  rites  were  performed,  the  silver 
coin  was  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the 
dead,  the  white  lanterns  were  hung  at 
the  door,  the  holy  prayers  were  recited, 
and  paper  shapes  of  all  things  the 
departed  might  need  in  the  land  of 
the  Genii  were  consumed  in  conse 
crated  fire.  And  after  the  geomancers 
and  the  necromancers  had  chosen  a 
burial-spot  which  no  unlucky  star  could 
shine  upon,  a  place  of  rest  which  no 


8o    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

demon  or  dragon  might  ever  disturb, 
the  beautiful  chih  was  built.  Then 
was  the  phantom  money  strewn  along 
the  way;  the  funeral  procession  de 
parted  from  the  dwelling  of  the  dead, 
and  with  prayers  and  lamentation  the 
mortal  remains  of  Tong's  good  father 
were  borne  to  the  tomb. 

Then  Tong  entered  as  a  slave  into 
the  service  of  his  purchaser,  who  al 
lotted  him  a  little  hut  to  dwell  in; 
and  thither  Tong  carried  with  him 
those  wooden  tablets,  bearing  the  an 
cestral  names,  before  which  filial  piety 
must  daily  burn  the  incense  of  prayer, 
and  perform  the  tender  duties  of  family 
worship. 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu    81 


THRICE  had  spring  perfumed  the 
breast  of  the  land  with  flowers, 
and  thrice  had  been  celebrated  that 
festival  of  the  dead  which  is  called  Siu- 
fan-ti,  and  thrice  had  Tong  swept  and 
garnished  his  father's  tomb  and  pre 
sented  his  fivefold  offering  of  fruits 
and  meats.  The  period  of  mourning 
had  passed,  yet  he  had  not  ceased  to 
mourn  for  his  parent.  The  years  re 
volved  with  their  moons,  bringing  him 
no  hour  of  joy,  no  day  of  happy  rest ; 
yet  he  never  lamented  his  servitude,  or 
failed  to  perform  the  rites  of  ancestral 
worship,  — until  at  last  the  fever  of  the 
rice-fields  laid  strong  hold  upon  him, 
and  he  could  not  arise  from  his  couch ; 
and  his  fellow-laborers  thought  him 
destined  to  die.  There  was  no  one  to 
6 


82    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

wait  upon  him,  no  one  to  care  for  his 
needs,  inasmuch  as  slaves  and  servants 
were  wholly  busied  with  the  duties  of 
the  household  or  the  labor  of  the 
fields, — all  departing  to  toil  at  sunrise 
and  returning  weary  only  after  the 
sundown. 

Now,  while  the  sick  youth  slumbered 
the  fitful  slumber  of  exhaustion  one 
sultry  noon,  he  dreamed  that  a  strange 
and  beautiful  woman  stood  by  him, 
and  bent  above  him  and  touched  his 
forehead  with  the  long,  fine  fingers 
of  her  shapely  hand.  And  at  her 
cool  touch  a  weird  sweet  shock  passed 
through  him,  and  all  his  veins  tingled 
as  if  thrilled  by  new  life.  Opening 
his  eyes  in  wonder,  he  saw  verily  bend 
ing  over  him  the  charming  being  of 
whom  he  had  dreamed,  and  he  knew 
that  her  lithe  hand  really  caressed  his 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu    83 

throbbing  forehead.  But  the  flame  of 
the  fever  was  gone,  a  delicious  cool 
ness  now  penetrated  every  fibre  of  his 
body,  and  the  thrill  of  which  he  had 
dreamed  still  tingled  in  his  blood  like 
a  great  joy.  Even  at  the  same  moment 
the  eyes  of  the  gentle  visitor  met  his 
own,  and  he  saw  they  were  singularly 
beautiful,  and  shone  like  splendid  black 
jewels  under  brows  curved  like  the 
wings  of  the  swallow.  Yet  their  calm 
gaze  seemed  to  pass  through  him  as 
light  through  crystal ;  and  a  vague  awe 
came  upon  him,  so  that  the  question 
which  had  risen  to  his  lips  found  no 
utterance.  Then  she,  still  caressing 
him,  smiled  and  said:  "I  have  come 
to  restore  thy  strength  and  to  be  thy 
wife.  Arise  and  worship  with  me." 

Her  clear  voice  had  tones  melodious 
as  a  bird's  song ;  but  in  her  gaze  there 


84    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

was  an  imperious  power  which  Tong 
felt  he  dare  not  resist.  Rising  from 
his  couch,  he  was  astounded  to  find 
his  strength  wholly  restored;  but  the 
cool,  slender  hand  which  held  his  own 
led  him  away  so  swiftly  that  he  had 
little  time  for  amazement.  He  would 
have  given  years  of  existence  for  cour 
age  to  speak  of  his  misery,  to  declare 
his  utter  inability  to  maintain  a  wife; 
but  something  irresistible  in  the  long 
dark  eyes  of  his  companion  forbade 
him  to  speak;  and  as  though  his  in 
most  thought  had  been  discerned  by 
that  wondrous  gaze,  she  said  to  him, 
in  the  same  clear  voice,  "/  will  pro 
vide."  Then  shame  made  him  blush 
at  the  thought  of  his  wretched  aspect 
and  tattered  apparel;  but  he  observed 
that  she  also  was  poorly  attired,  like 
a  woman  of  the  people,  —  wearing  no 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu    85 

ornament  of  any  sort,  nor  even  shoes 
upon  her  feet.  And  before  he  had  yet 
spoken  to  her,  they  came  before  the 
ancestral  tablets;  and  there  she  knelt 
with  him  and  prayed,  and  pledged  him 
in  a  cup  of  wine, — brought  he  knew 
not  from  whence, — and  together  they 
worshipped  Heaven  and  Earth.  Thus 
she  became  his  wife. 


86    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 


A  MYSTERIOUS  marriage  it  seemed, 
_/~\_  for  neither  on  that  day  nor  at  any 
future  time  could  Tong  venture  to  ask 
his  wife  the  name  of  her  family,  or  of 
the  place  whence  she  came,  and  he 
could  not  answer  any  of  the  curious 
questions  which  his  fellow-laborers  put 
to  him  concerning  her;  and  she,  more 
over,  never  uttered  a  word  about  her 
self,  except  to  say  that  her  name  was 
Tchi.  But  although  Tong  had  such 
awe  of  her  that  while  her  eyes  were 
upon  him  he  was  as  one  having  no 
will  of  his  own,  he  loved  her  unspeak 
ably;  and  the  thought  of  his  serfdom 
ceased  to  weigh  upon  him  from  the 
hour  of  his  marriage.  As  through 
magic  the  little  dwelling  had  become 
transformed:  its  misery  was  masked 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu    87 

with  charming  paper  devices, — with 
dainty  decorations  created  out  of  noth 
ing  by  that  pretty  jugglery  of  which 
woman  only  knows  the  secret. 

Each  morning  at  dawn  the  young 
husband  found  a  well-prepared  and 
ample  repast  awaiting  him,  and  each 
evening  also  upon  his  return;  but  the 
wife  all  day  sat  at  her  loom,  weaving 
silk  after  a  fashion  unlike  anything 
which  had  ever  been  seen  before  in 
that  province.  For  as  she  wove,  the 
silk  flowed  from  the  loom  like  a  slow 
current  of  glossy  gold,  bearing  upon 
its  undulations  strange  forms  of  violet 
and  crimson  and  jewel-green :  shapes  of 
ghostly  horsemen  riding  upon  horses, 
and  of  phantom  chariots  dragon-drawn, 
and  of  standards  of  trailing  cloud.  In 
every  dragon's  beard  glimmered  the 
mystic  pearl;  in  every  rider's  helmet 


88    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

sparkled  the  gem  of  rank.  And  each 
day  Tchi  would  weave  a  great  piece  of 
such  figured  silk ;  and  the  fame  of  her 
weaving  spread  abroad.  From  far  and 
near  people  thronged  to  see  the  mar 
vellous  work;  and  the  silk-merchants 
of  great  cities  heard  of  it,  and  they 
sent  messengers  to  Tchi,  asking  her 
that  she  should  weave  for  them  and 
teach  them  her  secret.  Then  she  wove 
for  them,  as  they  desired,  in  return  for 
the  silver  cubes  which  they  brought 
her;  but  when  they  prayed  her  to 
teach  them,  she  laughed  and  said, 
"Assuredly  I  could  never  teach  you, 
for  no  one  among  you  has  fingers  like 
mine."  And  indeed  no  man  could 
discern  her  fingers  when  she  wove, 
any  more  than  he  might  behold  the 
wings  of  a  bee  vibrating  in  swift 
flight. 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu    89 


THE  seasons  passed,  and  Tong  never 
knew  want,  so  well  did  his  beau 
tiful  wife  fulfd  her  promise,  —  "/  will 
provide" ;  and  the  cubes  of  bright  silver 
brought  by  the  silk-merchants  were 
piled  up  higher  and  higher  in  the 
great  carven  chest  which  Tchi  had 
bought  for  the  storage  of  the  house 
hold  goods. 

One  morning,  at  last,  when  Tong, 
having  finished  his  repast,  was  about 
to  depart  to  the  fields,  Tchi  unexpect 
edly  bade  him  remain ;  and  opening 
the  great  chest,  she  took  out  of  it  and 
gave  him  a  document  written  in  the 
official  characters  called  li-shu.  And 
Tong,  looking  at  it,  cried  out  and 
leaped  in  his  joy,  for  it  was  the  cer 
tificate  of  his  manumission.  Tchi  had 


go    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

secretly  purchased  her  husband's  free 
dom  with  the  price  of  her  wondrous 
silks ! 

1 '  Thou  shalt  labor  no  more  for  any 
master/'  she  said,  "but  for  thine  own 
sake  only.  And  I  have  also  bought 
this  dwelling,  with  all  which  is  therein, 
and  the  tea-fields  to  the  south,  and 
the  mulberry  groves  hard  by, — all  of 
which  are  thine." 

Then  Tong,  beside  himself  for  grate 
fulness,  would  have  prostrated  himself 
in  worship  before  her,  but  that  she 
would  not  suffer  it. 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu    91 


THUS  he  was  made  free  ;  and  pros 
perity  came  to  him  with  his  free 
dom  ;  and  whatsoever  he  gave  to  the 
sacred  earth  was  returned  to  him  cen 
tupled  ;  and  his  servants  loved  him  and 
blessed  the  beautiful  Tchi,  so  silent  and 
yet  so  kindly  to  all  about  her.  But  the 
silk-loom  soon  remained  untouched,  for 
Tchi  gave  birth  to  a  son, — a  boy  so 
beautiful  that  Tong  wept  with  delight 
when  he  looked  upon  him.  And  there 
after  the  wife  devoted  herself  wholly 
to  the  care  of  the  child. 

Now  it  soon  became  manifest  that 
the  boy  was  not  less  wonderful  than 
his  wonderful  mother.  In  the  third 
month  of  his  age  he  could  speak;  in 
the  seventh  month  he  could  repeat  by 
heart  the  proverbs  of  the  sages,  and 


92    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

recite  the  holy  prayers  ;  before  the  elev 
enth  month  he  could  use  the  writing- 
brush  with  skill,  and  copy  in  shapely 
characters  the  precepts  of  Lao-tseu. 
And  the  priests  of  the  temples  came 
to  behold  him  and  to  converse  with 
him,  and  they  marvelled  at  the  charm 
of  the  child  and  the  wisdom  of  what 
he  said ;  and  they  blessed  Tong,  say 
ing  :  '  *  Surely  this  son  of  thine  is  a  gift 
from  the  Master  of  Heaven,  a  sign 
that  the  immortals  love  thee.  May 
thine  eyes  behold  a  hundred  happy 
summers  I  " 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu    98 


IT  was  in  the  Period  of  the  Eleventh 
Moon :  the  flowers  had  passed  away, 
the  perfume  of  the  summer  had  flown, 
the  winds  were  growing  chill,  and  in 
Tong's  home  the  evening  fires  were 
lighted.  Long  the  husband  and  wife 
sat  in  the  mellow  glow,  — he  speaking 
much  of  his  hopes  and  joys,  and  of 
his  son  that  was  to  be  so  grand  a  man, 
and  of  many  paternal  projects  ;  while 
she,  speaking  little,  listened  to  his 
words,  and  often  turned  her  wonder 
ful  eyes  upon  him  with  an  answering 
smile.  Never  had  she  seemed  so  beau 
tiful  before  ;  and  Tong,  watching  her 
face,  marked  not  how  the  night  waned, 
nor  how  the  fire  sank  low,  nor  how  the 
wind  sang  in  the  leafless  trees  without. 
All  suddenly  Tchi  arose  without 


g4    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

speaking,   and  took  his  hand  in  hers 
and  led  him,   gently  as  on  that  strange 
wedding-morning,  to  the  cradle  where 
their    boy    slumbered,    faintly    smiling 
in  his  dreams.     And  in  that  moment 
there  came  upon  Tong  the  same  strange 
fear  that   he   knew  when    Tchi's   eyes 
had  first  met  his  own,  — the  vague  fear 
that  love  and   trust   had    calmed,    but 
never  wholly  cast   out,    like  unto  the 
fear  of  the  gods.      And  all   unknow 
ingly,  like  one  yielding  to  the  pressure 
of   mighty  invisible   hands,    he   bowed 
himself  low  before  her,  kneeling  as  to  a 
divinity.     Now,  when  he  lifted  his  eyes 
again  to  her  face,  he  closed  them  forth 
with  in  awe;    for    she  towered   before 
him  taller  than  any  mortal  woman,  and 
there  was  a  glow  about  her  as  of  sun 
beams,  and  the  light  of  her  limbs  shone 
through  her  garments.     But  her  sweet 


The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu    g5 

voice  came  to  him  with  all  the  tender 
ness  of  other  hours,  saying:  "Lo/  my 
beloved,  the  moment  has  come  in  which 
I  must  forsake  thee;  for  I  was  never 
of  mortal  born,  and  the  Invisible  may 
incarnate  themselves  for  a  time  only. 
Yet  I  leave  with  thee  the  pledge  of  our 
love,  —  this  fair  son,  who  shall  ever  be 
to  thee  as  faithful  and  as  fond  as  thou 
thyself  hast  been.  Know,  my  beloved, 
that  I  was  sent  to  thee  even  by  the  Master 
of  Heaven,  in  reward  of  thy  filial  piety, 
and  that  I  must  now  return  to  the  glory 
of  His  house :  I  AM  THE  GODDESS  Tcm- 

Niu." 

Even  as  she  ceased  to  speak,  the 
great  glow  faded  ;  and  Tong,  re-opening 
his  eyes,  knew  that  she  had  passed 
away  forever,  —  mysteriously  as  pass 
the  winds  of  heaven,  irrevocably  as 
the  light  of  a  flame  blown  out.  Yet 


96    The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu 

all  the  doors  were  barred,  all  the  win 
dows  unopened.  Still  the  child  slept, 
smiling  in  his  sleep.  Outside,  the 
darkness  was  breaking;  the  sky  was 
brightening  swiftly ;  the  night  was 
past.  With  splendid  majesty  the  East 
threw  open  high  gates  of  gold  for  the 
coming  of  the  sun;  and,  illuminated 
by  the  glory  of  his  coming,  the  vapors 
of  morning  wrought  themselves  into 
marvellous  shapes  of  shifting  color,  — 
into  forms  weirdly  beautiful  as  the 
silken  dreams  woven  in  the  loom  of 
Tchi-Niu. 


t*t 


The  Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King 


Before  me  ran,  as  a  herald  runneth,  the 
Leader  of  the  Moon  ; 

And  the  Spirit  of  the  Wind  followed  after 

me,  — quickening  his  flight. 

Li-SAO. 


THE  RETURN   OF  YEN-TCHIN- 
KING 

IN  the  thirty-eighth  chapter  of  the 
holy  book,  Kan-ing-pien,  wherein 
the  Recompense  of  Immortality  is  con 
sidered,  may  be  found  the  legend  of  Yen- 
Tchin-King.  A  thousand  years  have 
passed  since  the  passing  of  the  good 
Tchin-King ;  for  it  was  in  the  period 
of  the  greatness  of  Thang  that  he  lived 
and  died. 

Now,  in  those  days  when  Yen-Tchin- 
King  was  Supreme  Judge  of  one  of 
the  Six  August  Tribunals,  one  Li-hi- 
lie,  a  soldier  mighty  for  evil,  lifted 
the  black  banner  of  revolt,  and  drew 
after  him,  as  a  tide  of  destruction,  the 
millions  of  the  northern  provinces. 


ioo    Return  of  Yen-T chin-King 

And  learning  of  these  things,  and 
knowing  also  that  Hi-lie  was  the  most 
ferocious  of  men,  who  respected  noth 
ing  on  earth  save  fearlessness,  the 
Son  of  Heaven  commanded  Tchin- 
King  that  he  should  visit  Hi-lie  and 
strive  to  recall  the  rebel  to  duty,  and 
read  unto  the  people  who  followed 
after  him  in  revolt  the  Emperor's  letter 
of  reproof  and  warning.  For  Tchin- 
King  was  famed  throughout  the  prov 
inces  for  his  wisdom,  his  rectitude, 
and  his  fearlessness ;  and  the  Son  of 
Heaven  believed  that  if  Hi-lie  would 
listen  to  the  words  of  any  living  man 
steadfast  in  loyalty  and  virtue,  he  would 
listen  to  the  words  of  Tchin-King. 
So  Tchin-King  arrayed  himself  in  his 
robes  of  office,  and  set  his  house  in 
order ;  and,  having  embraced  his  wife 
and  his  children,  mounted  his  horse 


Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King    101 

and  rode  away  alone  to  the  roaring 
camp  of  the  rebels,  bearing  the  Em 
peror's  letter  in  his  bosom.  "I  shall 
return ;  fear  not!  "  were  his  last  words 
to  the  gray  servant  who  watched  him 
from  the  terrace  as  he  rode. 


102     Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King 


AND  Tchin-King  at  last  descended 
_/jL  from  his  horse,  and  entered  into 
the  rebel  camp,  and,  passing  through 
that  huge  gathering  of  war,  stood  in  the 
presence  of  Hi-lie.  High  sat  the  rebel 
among  his  chiefs ,  encircled  by  the  wave- 
lightning  of  swords  and  the  thunders 
of  ten  thousand  gongs  :  above  him  un 
dulated  the  silken  folds  of  the  Black 
Dragon,  while  a  vast  fire  rose  bicker 
ing  before  him.  Also  Tchin-King  saw 
that  the  tongues  of  that  fire  were  lick 
ing  human  bones,  and  that  skulls  of 
men  lay  blackening  among  the  ashes. 
Yet  he  was  not  afraid  to  look  upon  the 
fire,  nor  into  the  eyes  of  Hi-lie ;  but 
drawing  from  his  bosom  the  roll  of 
perfumed  yellow  silk  upon  which  the 
words  of  the  Emperor  were  written, 


Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King     io3 

and  kissing  it,  he  made  ready  to  read, 
while  the  multitude  became  silent. 
Then,  in  a  strong,  clear  voice  he 
began : — 

"  The  words  of  the  Celestial  and  Au 
gust,  the  Son  of  Heaven,  the  Divine  Ko- 
Tsu-Tchin-Yao-ti,  unto  the  rebel  Li-Hi-lie 
and  those  that  follow  him." 

And  a  roar  went  up  like  the  roar 
of  the  sea, — a  roar  of  rage,  and  the 
hideous  battle-moan,  like  the  moan  of  a 
forest  in  storm,  — ' '  Hoo!  hoo-oo-oo-oo ! " 
—  and  the  sword-lightnings  brake  loose, 
and  the  thunder  of  the  gongs  moved 
the  ground  beneath  the  messenger's  feet. 
But  Hi-lie  waved  his  gilded  wand, 
and  again  there  was  silence.  * '  Nay !  " 
spake  the  rebel  chief;  "let  the  dog 
bark !  "  So  Tchin-King  spake  on  :  — 

"  Knowest  thou  not,  0  most  rash  and 
foolish  oj  men,  that  thou  leadest  the 


io4    Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King 

people  only  into  the  mouth  of  the  Dragon 
of  Destruction?  Knowest  thou  not,  also, 
that  the  people  of  my  kingdom  are  the 
first-born  of  the  Master  of  Heaven?  So 
it  hath  been  written  that  he  who  doth  need 
lessly  subject  the  people  to  wounds  and 
death  shall  not  be  suffered  by  Heaven  to 
live !  Thou  who  wouldst  subvert  those 
laws  founded  by  the  wise, — those  laws  in 
obedience  to  which  may  happiness  and  pros 
perity  alone  be  found, — thou  art  commit 
ting  the  greatest  of  all  crimes,  —  the  crime 
that  is  never  forgiven  I 

"  0  my  people,  think  not  that  I  your 
Emperor,  I  your  Father,  seek  your  de 
struction.  I  desire  only  your  happiness, 
your  prosperity,  your  greatness;  let  not 
your  folly  provoke  the  severity  of  your 
Celestial  Parent.  Follow  not  after  mad 
ness  and  blind  rage;  hearken  rather  to 
the  wise  words  of  my  messenger." 


Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King    io5 

"//oo/  hoo-oo-oo-oo-00  / "  roared  the 
people,  gathering  fury.  "//oo/  hoo- 
oo-oo-oo !" — till  the  mountains  rolled 
back  the  cry  like  the  rolling  of  a 
typhoon ;  and  once  more  the  pealing 
of  the  gongs  paralyzed  voice  and 
hearing.  Then  Tchin-King,  looking  at 
Hi-lie,  saw  that  he  laughed,  and  that 
the  words  of  the  letter  would  not  again 
be  listened  to.  Therefore  he  read  on 
to  the  end  without  looking  about  him, 
resolved  to  perform  his  mission  in  so 
far  as  lay  in  his  power.  And  having 
read  all,  he  would  have  given  the  letter 
to  Hi-lie ;  but  Hi-lie  would  not  extend 
his  hand  to  take  it.  Therefore  Tchin- 
King  replaced  it  in  his  bosom,  and 
folding  his  arms,  looked  Hi-lie  calmly 
in  the  face,  and  waited.  Again  Hi-lie 
waved  his  gilded  wand;  and  the  roar 
ing  ceased,  and  the  booming  of  the 


io6    Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King 

gongs,  until  nothing  save  the  fluttering 
of  the  Dragon-banner  could  be  heard. 
Then  spake  Hi-lie,  with  an  evil  smile,  — 

* '  Tchin-King,  0  son  of  a  dog  I  if 
thou  dost  not  now  take  the  oath  of 
fealty,  and  bow  thyself  before  me,  and 
salute  me  with  the  salutation  of  Em 
perors,  —  even  with  the  luh-kao,  the 
triple  prostration, — into  that  fire  thou 
shalt  be  thrown." 

But  Tchin-King,  turning  his  back 
upon  the  usurper,  bowed  himself  a 
moment  in  worship  to  Heaven  and 
Earth ;  and  then  rising  suddenly,  ere 
any  man  could  lay  hand  upon  him,  he 
leaped  into  the  towering  flame,  and 
stood  there,  with  folded  arms,  like  a 
God. 

Then  Hi-lie  leaped  to  his  feet  in 
amazement,  and  shouted  to  his  men ; 
and  they  snatched  Tchin-King  from 


Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King     107 

the  fire,  and  wrung  the  flames  from 
his  robes  with  their  naked  hands,  and 
extolled  him,  and  praised  him  to  his 
face.  And  even  Hi-lie  himself  de 
scended  from  his  seat,  and  spoke  fair 
words  to  him,  saying:  "0  Tchin-King, 
I  see  thou  art  indeed  a  brave  man  and 
true,  and  worthy  of  all  honor ;  be 
seated  among  us,  I  pray  thee,  and  par 
take  of  whatever  it  is  in  our  power  to 
bestow! " 

But  Tchin-King,  looking  upon  him 
unswervingly,  replied  in  a  voice  clear 
as  the  voice  of  a  great  bell, — 

"  Never,  0  Hi-lie,  shall  I  accept 
aught  from  thy  hand,  save  death,  so 
long  as  thou  shalt  continue  in  the 
path  of  wrath  and  folly.  And  never 
shall  it  be  said  that  Tchin-King  sat 
him  down  among  rebels  and  traitors, 
among  murderers  and  robbers." 


io8    Return  of  Yen-T chin-King 

Then  Hi-lie,  in  sudden  fury,  smote 
him  with  his  sword ;  and  Tchin-King 
fell  to  the  earth  and  died,  striving  even 
in  his  death  to  bow  his  head  toward 
the  South, — toward  the  place  of  the 
Emperor's  palace,  — toward  the  pres 
ence  of  his  beloved  Master. 


Return  of  Yen-T chin-King    109 


EVEN  at  the  same  hour  the  Son 
of  Heaven,  alone  in  the  inner 
chamber  of  his  palace,  became  aware 
of  a  Shape  prostrate  before  his  feet; 
and  when  he  spake,  the  Shape  arose 
and  stood  before  him,  and  he  saw  that 
it  was  Tchin-King.  And  the  Emperor 
would  have  questioned  him ;  yet  ere 
he  could  question,  the  familiar  voice 
spake,  saying: 

"Son  of  Heaven,  the  mission  con 
fided  to  me  I  have  performed ;  and  thy 
command  hath  been  accomplished  to 
the  extent  of  thy  humble  servant's 
feeble  power.  But  even  now  must  I 
depart,  that  I  may  enter  the  service  of 
another  Master." 

And  looking,  the  Emperor  perceived 
that  the  Golden  Tigers  upon  the  wall 


no    Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King 

were  visible  through  the  form  of  Tchin- 
King;  and  a  strange  coldness,  like  a 
winter  wind,  passed  through  the  cham 
ber;  and  the  figure  faded  out.  Then 
the  Emperor  knew  that  the  Master  of 
whom  his  faithful  servant  had  spoken 
was  none  other  than  the  Master  of 
Heaven. 

Also  at  the  same  hour  the  gray  ser 
vant  of  Tchin-King's  house  beheld  him 
passing  through  the  apartments,  smil 
ing  as  he  was  wont  to  smile  when  he 
saw  that  all  things  were  as  he  desired. 
"Is  it  well  with  thee,  my  lord?"  ques 
tioned  the  aged  man.  And  a  voice 
answered  him:  "It  is  well";  but  the 
presence  of  Tchin-King  had  passed 
away  before  the  answer  came. 


Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King    1 1 1 


SO  the  armies  of  the  Son  of  Heaven 
strove  with  the  rebels.  But  the 
land  was  soaked  with  blood  and  black 
ened  with  fire ;  and  the  corpses  of  whole 
populations  were  carried  by  the  rivers 
to  feed  the  fishes  of  the  sea ;  and  still 
the  war  prevailed  through  many  a  long 
red  year.  Then  came  to  aid  the  Son 
of  Heaven  the  hordes  that  dwell  in 
the  desolations  of  the  West  and  North, 
—  horsemen  born,  a  nation  of  wild 
archers,  each  mighty  to  bend  a  two- 
hundred-pound  bow  until  the  ears 
should  meet.  And  as  a  whirlwind  they 
came  against  rebellion,  raining  raven- 
feathered  arrows  in  a  storm  of  death ; 
and  they  prevailed  against  Hi-lie  and  his 
people.  Then  those  that  survived  de 
struction  and  defeat  submitted,  and 


ii2     Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King 

promised  allegiance;  and  once  more 
was  the  law  of  righteousness  restored. 
But  Tchin-King  had  been  dead  for 
many  summers. 

And  the  Son  of  Heaven  sent  word 
to  his  victorious  generals  that  they 
should  bring  back  with  them  the  bones 
of  his  faithful  servant,  to  be  laid  with 
honor  in  a  mausoleum  erected  by  im 
perial  decree.  So  the  generals  of  the 
Celestial  and  August  sought  after  the 
nameless  grave  and  found  it,  and  had 
the  earth  taken  up,  and  made  ready 
to  remove  the  coffin. 

But  the  coffin  crumbled  into  dust 
before  their  eyes;  for  the  worms  had 
gnawed  it,  and  the  hungry  earth  had 
devoured  its  substance,  leaving  only  a 
phantom  shell  that  vanished  at  touch 
of  the  light.  And  lo !  as  it  vanished, 
all  beheld  lying  there  the  perfect  form 


Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King     n3 

and  features  of  the  good  Tchin-King. 
Corruption  had  not  touched  him,  nor 
had  the  worms  disturbed  his  rest,  nor 
had  the  bloom  of  life  departed  from 
his  face.  And  he  seemed  to  dream 
only,  —  comely  to  see  as  upon  the 
morning  of  his  bridal,  and  smiling  as 
the  holy  images  smile,  with  eyelids 
closed,  in  the  twilight  of  the  great 
pagodas. 

Then  spoke  a  priest,  standing  by 
the  grave:  "0  my  children,  this  is 
indeed  a  Sign  from  the  Master  of 
Heaven;  in  such  wise  do  the  Powers 
Celestial  preserve  them  that  are  chosen 
to  be  numbered  with  the  Immortals. 
Death  may  not  prevail  over  them, 
neither  may  corruption  come  nigh 
them.  Verily  the  blessed  Tchin-King 
hath  taken  his  place  among  the  divini 
ties  of  Heaven!'1 

8 


n4    Return  of  Yen-Tchin-King 

Then  they  bore  Tchin-King  back  to 
his  native  place,  and  laid  him  with 
highest  honors  in  the  mausoleum  which 
the  Emperor  had  commanded ;  and 
there  he  sleeps,  incorruptible  forever, 
arrayed  in  his  robes  of  state.  Upon 
his  tomb  are  sculptured  the  emblems 
of  his  greatness  and  his  wisdom  and 
his  virtue,  and  the  signs  of  his  office, 
and  the  Four  Precious  Things :  and 
the  monsters  which  are  holy  symbols 
mount  giant  guard  in  stone  about  it; 
and  the  weird  Dogs  of  Fo  keep  watch 
before  it,  as  before  the  temples  of  the 
gods. 


The  Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 


SANG  A  CHINESE  HEART  FOURTEEN   HUNDRED 
YEARS   AGO  :  

There  is  Somebody  of  whom  I  am  thinking. 

Far  away  there  is  Somebody  of  whom  1 
am  thinking. 

A  hundred  leagues  of  mountains  lie  be 
tween  us :  — 

Yet  the  same  Moon  shines  upon  us,  and 
the  passing  Wind  breathes  upon  us  both. 


THE  TRADITION  OF  THE 
TEA-PLANT 

44  Good  is  the  continence  of  the  eye  ; 
Good  is  the  continence  of  the  ear ; 
Good  is  the  continence  of  the  nostrils ; 
Good  is  the  continence  of  the  tongue ; 
Good  is  the  continence  of  the  body ; 
Good  is  the  continence  of  speech  ; 
Good  is  all.   .   .   ." 

A  GAIN  the  Vulture  of  Temptation 
7~\  soared  to  the  highest  heaven  of 
his  contemplation,  bringing  his  soul 
down,  down,  reeling  and  fluttering, 
back  to  the  World  of  Illusion.  Again 
the  memory  made  dizzy  his  thought, 
like  the  perfume  of  some  venomous 
flower.  Yet  he  had  seen  the  bayadere 
for  an  instant  only,  when  passing 
through  Kasi  upon  his  way  to  China, 
—  to  the  vast  empire  of  souls  that 


n8    Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

thirsted  after  the  refreshment  of  Bud 
dha's  law,  as  sun-parched  fields  thirst 
for  the  life-giving  rain.  When  she 
called  him,  and  dropped  her  little  gift 
into  his  mendicant's  bowl,  he  had 
indeed  lifted  his  fan  before  his  face, 
yet  not  quickly  enough;  and  the  pen 
alty  of  that  fault  had  followed  him  a 
thousand  leagues, — pursued  after  him 
even  into  the  strange  land  to  which 
he  had  come  to  bear  the  words  of  the 
Universal  Teacher.  Accursed  beauty! 
surely  framed  by  the  Tempter  of  tempt 
ers,  by  Mara  himself,  for  the  perdition 
of  the  just!  Wisely  had  Bhagavat 
warned  his  disciples  :  * '  0  ye  Cramanas, 
women  are  not  to  be  looked  upon ! 
And  if  ye  chance  to  meet  women,  ye 
must  not  suffer  your  eyes  to  dwell  upon 
them ;  but,  maintaining  holy  reserve, 
speak  not  to  them  at  all.  Then  fail 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     119 

not  to  whisper  unto  your  own  hearts, 
4  Lo,  we  are  Cramanas,  whose  duty  it 
is  to  remain  uncontaminated  by  the 
corruptions  of  this  world,  even  as  the 
Lotos,  which  suffereth  no  vileness  to 
cling  unto  its  leaves,  though  it  blossom 
amid  the  refuse  of  the  wayside  ditch." 
Then  also  came  to  his  memory,  but 
with  a  new  and  terrible  meaning,  the 
words  of  the  Twentieth-and-Third  of 
the  Admonitions :  — 

"Of  all  attachments  unto  objects  of 
desire,  the  strongest  indeed  is  the  at 
tachment  to  form.  Happily,  this  pas 
sion  is  unique ;  for  were  there  any 
other  like  unto  it,  then  to  enter  the 
Perfect  Way  were  impossible." 

How,  indeed,  thus  haunted  by  the 
illusion  of  form,  was  he  to  fulfil  the 
vow  that  he  had  made  to  pass  a  night 
and  a  day  in  perfect  and  unbroken 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

meditation?  Already  the  night  was 
beginning!  Assuredly,  for  sickness  of 
the  soul,  for  fever  of  the  spirit,  there 
was  no  physic  save  prayer.  The  sun 
set  was  swiftly  fading  out.  He  strove 
to  pray :  — 

"  0  the  Jewel  in  the  Lotos ! 

"Even  as  the  tortoise  withdraweth 
its  extremities  into  its  shell,  let  me, 
0  Blessed  One,  withdraw  my  senses 
wholly  into  meditation ! 

* '  0  the  Jewel  in  the  Lotos ! 

1 '  For  even  as  rain  penetrateth  the 
broken  roof  of  a  dwelling  long  unin 
habited,  so  may  passion  enter  the  soul 
uninhabited  by  meditation. 

* '  0  the  Jewel  in  the  Lotos ! 

'  *  Even  as  still  water  that  hath  de 
posited  all  its  slime,  so  let  my  soul, 
0  Tathagata,  be  made  purel  Give 
me  strong  power  to  rise  above  the 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     12 1 

world,  0  Master,  even  as  the  wild  bird 
rises  from  its  marsh  to  follow  the  path- 


122     Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

Vain  his  prayer,  alas!  vain  also  his 
invocation !  The  mystic  meaning  of  the 
holy  text — the  sense  of  the  Lotos,  the 
sense  of  the  Jewel — had  evaporated 
from  the  words,  and  their  monotonous 
utterance  now  served  only  to  lend  more 
dangerous  definition  to  the  memory 
that  tempted  and  tortured  him.  0 
the  jewel  in  her  ear!  What  lotos-bud 
more  dainty  than  the  folded  flower 
of  flesh,  with  its  dripping  of  diamond- 
fire!  Again  he  saw  it,  and  the  curve 
of  the  cheek  beyond,  luscious  to  look 
upon  as  beautiful  brown  fruit.  How 
true  the  Two  Hundred  and  Eighty- 
Fourth  verse  of  the  Admonitions !  — 
*  *  So  long  as  a  man  shall  not  have  torn 
from  his  heart  even  the  smallest  rootlet 
of  that  liana  of  desire  which  draweth 
his  thought  toward  women,  even  so 
long  shall  his  soul  remain  fettered." 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     128 

And  there  came  to  his  mind  also  the 
Three  Hundred  and  Forty-Fifth  verse  of 
the  same  blessed  book,  regarding  fetters: 

"In  bonds  of  rope,  wise  teachers 
have  said,  there  is  no  strength ;  nor  in 
fetters  of  wood,  nor  yet  in  fetters  of 
iron.  Much  stronger  than  any  of  these 
is  the  fetter  of  concern  for  the  jewelled 
earrings  of  women." 

"  Omniscient  Gotama  !  "  he  cried,  — 
* '  all-seeing  Tathagata !  How  multiform 
the  consolation  of  Thy  Word!  how 
marvellous  Thy  understanding  of  the 
human  heart!  Was  this  also  one  of 
Thy  temptations?  —  one  of  the  myriad 
illusions  marshalled  before  Thee  by 
Mara  in  that  night  when  the  earth 
rocked  as  a  chariot,  and  the  sacred 
trembling  passed  from  sun  to  sun, 
from  system  to  system,  from  universe 
to  universe,  from  eternity  to  eternity?" 


124    Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

0  the  jewel  in  her  ear!  The  vision 
would  not  go!  Nay,  each  time  it 
hovered  before  his  thought  it  seemed 
to  take  a  warmer  life,  a  fonder  look,  a 
fairer  form ;  to  develop  with  his  weak 
ness  ;  to  gain  force  from  his  enervation. 
He  saw  the  eyes,  large,  limpid,  soft, 
and  black  as  a  deer's ;  the  pearls  in  the 
dark  hair,  and  the  pearls  in  the  pink 
mouth;  the  lips  curling  to  a  kiss,  a 
flower-kiss ;  and  a  fragrance  seemed  to 
float  to  his  senses,  sweet,  strange,  sopo 
rific, —  a  perfume  of  youth,  an  odor  of 
woman.  Rising  to  his  feet,  with  strong 
resolve  he  pronounced  again  the  sacred 
invocation ;  and  he  recited  the  holy 
words  of  the  Chapter  of  Impermanency  : 

* '  Gazing  upon  the  heavens  and  upon 
the  earth  ye  must  say,  These  are  not 
permanent.  Gazing  upon  the  moun 
tains  and  the  rivers,  ye  must  say,  These 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     125 

are  not  permanent.  Gazing  upon  the 
forms  and  upon  the  faces  of  exterior 
beings,  and  beholding  their  growth  and 
their  development,  ye  must  say,  These 
are  not  permanent." 

And  nevertheless !  how  sweet  illu 
sion  !  The  illusion  of  the  great  sun ; 
the  illusion  of  the  shadow-casting  hills ; 
the  illusion  of  waters,  formless  and 
multiform;  the  illusion  of — Nay,  nay! 
what  impious  fancy  I  Accursed  girl! 
yet,  yet!  why  should  he  curse  her? 
Had  she  ever  done  aught  to  merit 
the  malediction  of  an  ascetic?  Never, 
never!  Only  her  form,  the  memory 
of  her,  the  beautiful  phantom  of  her, 
the  accursed  phantom  of  her!  What 
was  she?  An  illusion  creating  illu 
sions,  a  mockery,  a  dream,  a  shadow, 
a  vanity,  a  vexation  of  spirit!  The 
fault,  the  sin,  was  in  himself,  in  his 


126    Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

rebellious  thought,  in  his  untamed 
memory.  Though  mobile  as  water,  in 
tangible  as  vapor,  Thought,  neverthe 
less,  may  be  tamed  by  the  Will,  may 
be  harnessed  to  the  chariot  of  Wis 
dom —  must  be! — that  happiness  be 
found.  And  he  recited  the  blessed 
verses  of  the  ' '  Book  of  the  Way  of  the 
Law":  — 

"All  forms  are  only  temporary." 
When  this  great  truth  is  fully  com 
prehended  by  any  one,  then  is  he  de 
livered  from  all  pain.  This  is  the  Way 
of  Purification. 

" All  forms  are  subject  unto  pain." 
When  this  great  truth  is  fully  compre 
hended  by  any  one,  then  is  he  delivered 
from  all  pain.  This  is  the  Way  of 
Purification. 

"All  forms  are  without  substantial 
reality."  When  this  great  truth  is  fully 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     127 

comprehended  by  any  one,  then  is  he 
delivered  from  all  pain.  This  is  the 
way  of  ... 

Her  form,  too,  unsubstantial,  unreal, 
an  illusion  only,  though  comeliest  of 
illusions?  She  had  given  him  alms! 
Was  the  merit  of  the  giver  illusive 
also, — illusive  like  the  grace  of  the 
supple  fingers  that  gave?  Assuredly 
there  were  mysteries  in  the  Abhidharma 
impenetrable,  incomprehensible  I  ... 
It  was  a  golden  coin,  stamped  with  the 
symbol  of  an  elephant, — not  more  of 
an  illusion,  indeed,  than  the  gifts  of 
Kings  to  the  Buddha!  Gold  upon  her 
bosom  also,  less  fine  than  the  gold  of 
her  skin.  Naked  between  the  silken 
sash  and  the  narrow  breast-corslet,  her 
young  waist  curved  glossy  and  pliant 
as  a  bow.  Richer  the  silver  in  her 


128    Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

voice  than  in  the  hollow  pagals  that 
made  a  moonlight  about  her  ankles ! 
But  her  smile! — the  little  teeth  like 
flower-stamens  in  the  perfumed  blos 
som  of  her  mouth  1 

O  weakness  I  0  shame  I  How  had 
the  strong  Charioteer  of  Resolve  thus 
lost  his  control  over  the  wild  team  of 
fancy  1  Was  this  languor  of  the  Will 
a  signal  of  coming  peril,  the  peril  of 
slumber  ?  So  strangely  vivid  those  fan 
cies  were,  so  brightly  definite,  as  about 
to  take  visible  form,  to  move  with  fac 
titious  life,  to  play  some  unholy  drama 
upon  the  stage  of  dreams !  "0  Thou 
Fully  Awakened!"  he  cried  aloud, 
'  *  help  now  thy  humble  disciple  to  ob 
tain  the  blessed  wakefulness  of  perfect 
contemplation!  let  him  find  force  to 
fulfil  his  vow  I  suffer  not  Mara  to  pre- 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     129 

vail  against  him !  "  And  he  recited  the 
eternal  verses  of  the  Chapter  of  Wake- 
fulness  :  — 

' '  Completely  and  eternally  awake  are 
the  disciples  of  Gotama!  Unceasingly, 
by  day  and  night,  their  thoughts  are 
fixed  upon  the  Law. 

' '  Completely  and  eternally  awake  are 
the  disciples  of  Gotama !  Unceasingly, 
by  day  and  night,  their  thoughts  are 
fixed  upon  the  Community. 

4  *  Completely  and  eternally  awake  are 
the  disciples  of  Gotama!  Unceasingly, 
by  day  and  night,  their  thoughts  are 
fixed  upon  the  Body. 

' '  Completely  and  eternally  awake  are 
the  disciples  of  Gotama !  Unceasingly, 
by  day  and  night,  their  minds  know 
the  sweetness  of  perfect  peace. 

' '  Completely  and  eternally  awake  are 
the  disciples  of  Gotama  I  Unceasingly, 
9 


i3o     Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

by  day  and  night,  their  minds   enjoy 
the  deep  peace  of  meditation/' 

There  came  a  murmur  to  his  ears ;  a 
murmuring  of  many  voices,  smothering 
the  utterances  of  his  own,  like  a  tumult 
of  waters.  The  stars  went  out  before 
his  sight;  the  heavens  darkened  their 
infinities:  all  things  became  viewless, 
became  blackness ;  and  the  great  mur 
mur  deepened,  like  the  murmur  of  a 
rising  tide;  and  the  earth  seemed  to 
sink  from  beneath  him.  His  feet  no 
longer  touched  the  ground ;  a  sense  of 
supernatural  buoyancy  pervaded  every 
fibre  of  his  body :  he  felt  himself  float 
ing  in  obscurity;  then  sinking  softly, 
slowly,  like  a  feather  dropped  from  the 
pinnacle  of  a  temple.  Was  this  death? 
Nay,  for  all  suddenly,  as  transported  by 
the  Sixth  Supernatural  Power,  he  stood 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     i3i 

again  in  light,  —  a  perfumed,  sleepy 
light,  vapory,  beautiful,  —  that  bathed 
the  marvellous  streets  of  some  Indian 
city.  Now  the  nature  of  the  murmur 
became  manifest  to  him ;  for  he  moved 
with  a  mighty  throng,  a  people  of  pil 
grims,  a  nation  of  worshippers.  But 
these  were  not  of  his  faith ;  they  bore 
upon  their  foreheads  the  smeared  sym 
bols  of  obscene  gods!  Still,  he  could 
not  escape  from  their  midst ;  the  mile- 
broad  human  torrent  bore  him  irresisti 
bly  with  it,  as  a  leaf  is  swept  by  the 
waters  of  the  Ganges.  Rajahs  were 
there  with  their  trains,  and  princes 
riding  upon  elephants,  and  Brahmins 
robed  in  their  vestments,  and  swarms 
of  voluptuous  dancing-girls,  moving 
to  chant  of  kabit  and  damdri.  But 
whither,  whither?  Out  of  the  city 
into  the  sun  they  passed,  between 


1 32     Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

avenues  of  banyan,    down  colonnades 
of  palm.      But  whither,   whither? 

Blue-distant,  a  mountain  of  carven 
stone  appeared  before  them, — the 
Temple,  lifting  to  heaven  its  wilder 
ness  of  chiselled  pinnacles,  flinging 
to  the  sky  the  golden  spray  of  its 
decoration.  Higher  it  grew  with  ap 
proach,  the  blue  tones  changed  to 
gray,  the  outlines  sharpened  in  the 
light.  Then  each  detail  became  visi 
ble  :  the  elephants  of  the  pedestals 
standing  upon  tortoises  of  rock;  the 
great  grim  faces  of  the  capitals ;  the 
serpents  and  monsters  writhing  among 
the  friezes ;  the  many-headed  gods  of 
basalt  in  their  galleries  of  fretted  niches, 
tier  above  tier  ;  the  pictured  foulnesses, 
the  painted  lusts,  the  divinities  of  abom 
ination.  And,  yawning  in  the  sloping 
precipice  of  sculpture,  beneath  a  fren- 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     i33 

zied  swarming  of  gods  and  Gopia,  — 
a  beetling  pyramid  of  limbs  and  bodies 
interlocked, — the  Gate,  cavernous  and 
shadowy  as  the  mouth  of  Siva,  de 
voured  the  living  multitude. 

The  eddy  of  the  throng  whirled  him 
with  it  to  the  vastness  of  the  interior. 
None  seemed  to  note  his  yellow  robe, 
none  even  to  observe  his  presence. 
Giant  aisles  intercrossed  their  heights 
above  him  ;  myriads  of  mighty  pillars, 
fantastically  carven,  filed  away  to  in 
visibility  behind  the  yellow  illumina 
tion  of  torch-fires.  Strange  images, 
weirdly  sensuous,  loomed  up  through 
haze  of  incense.  Colossal  figures,  that 
at  a  distance  assumed  the  form  of  ele 
phants  or  garuda-birds,  changed  aspect 
when  approached,  and  revealed  as  the 
secret  of  their  design  an  interplaiting 
of  the  bodies  of  women  ;  while  one 


1 34     Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

divinity  rode  all  the  monstrous  alle 
gories, —  one  divinity  or  demon,  eter 
nally  the  same  in  the  repetition  of  the 
sculptor,  universally  visible  as  though 
self-multiplied.  The  huge  pillars  them 
selves  were  symbols,  figures,  carnalities ; 
the  orgiastic  spirit  of  that  worship  lived 
and  writhed  in  the  contorted  bronze 
of  the  lamps,  the  twisted  gold  of 
the  cups,  the  chiselled  marble  of  the 
tanks.  .  .  . 

How  far  had  he  proceeded?  He 
knew  ,not;  the  journey  among  those 
countless  columns,  past  those  armies 
of  petrified  gods,  down  lanes  of  flick 
ering  lights,  seemed  longer  than  the 
voyage  of  a  caravan,  longer  than  his 
pilgrimage  to  China!  But  suddenly, 
inexplicably,  there  came  a  silence  as 
of  cemeteries ;  the  living  ocean  seemed 
to  have  ebbed  away  from  about  him, 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     i35 

to  have  been  engulfed  within  abysses  of 
subterranean  architecture!  He  found 
himself  alone  in  some  strange  crypt  be 
fore  a  basin,  shell-shaped  and  shallow, 
bearing  in  its  centre  a  rounded  column 
of  less  than  human  height,  whose  smooth 
and  spherical  summit  was  wreathed 
with  flowers.  Lamps  similarly  formed, 
and  fed  with  oil  of  palm,  hung  above 
it.  There  was  no  other  graven  image, 
no  visible  divinity.  Flowers  of  count 
less  varieties  lay  heaped  upon  the  pave 
ment  ;  they  covered  its  surface  like  a 
carpet,  thick,  soft;  they  exhaled  their 
ghosts  beneath  his  feet.  The  perfume 
seemed  to  penetrate  his  brain,  — a  per 
fume  sensuous,  intoxicating,  unholy ; 
an  unconquerable  languor  mastered  his 
will,  and  he  sank  to  rest  upon  the  floral 
offerings. 

The   sound   of  a   tread,    light   as  a 


1 36     Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

whisper,  approached  through  the  heavy 
stillness,  with  a  drowsy  tinkling  of 
pagals,  a  tintinnabulation  of  anklets. 
All  suddenly  he  felt  glide  about  his 
neck  the  tepid  smoothness  of  a  woman's 
arm.  She,  she!  his  Illusion,  his 
Temptation;  but  how  transformed, 
transfigured! — preternatural  in  her  love 
liness,  incomprehensible  in  her  charm! 
Delicate  as  a  jasmine-petal  the  cheek  that 
touched  his  own ;  deep  as  night,  sweet 
as  summer,  the  eyes  that  watched  him. 
"  Heart' s-thief, "  her  flower-lips  whis 
pered,  —  "  hearts-thief,  how  have  I 
sought  for  thee  I  How  have  I  found 
thee!  Sweets  I  bring  thee,  my  beloved; 
lips  and  bosom ;  fruit  and  blossom. 
Hast  thirst?  Drink  from  the  well  of 
mine  eyes!  Wouldst  sacrifice?  I  am 
thine  altar !  Wouldst  pray  ?  I  am  thy 
God!" 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     187 

Their  lips  touched  ;  her  kiss  seemed 
to  change  the  cells  of  his  blood  to 
flame.  For  a  moment  Illusion  tri 
umphed  ;  Mara  prevailed !  .  .  .  With  a 
shock  of  resolve  the  dreamer  awoke 
in  the  night, — under  the  stars  of  the 
Chinese  sky. 

Only  a  mockery  of  sleep!  But  the 
vow  had  been  violated,  the  sacred  pur 
pose  unfulfilled!  Humiliated,  penitent, 
but  resolved,  the  ascetic  drew  from 
his  girdle  a  keen  knife,  and  with  un 
faltering  hands  severed  his  eyelids  from 
his  eyes,  and  flung  them  from  him. 
"0  Thou  Perfectly  Awakened!"  he 
prayed,  "thy  disciple  hath  not  been 
overcome  save  through  the  feebleness 
of  the  body ;  and  his  vow  hath  been 
renewed.  Here  shall  he  linger,  with 
out  food  or  drink,  until  the  moment 


1 38     Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

of  its  fulfilment."  And  having  assumed 
the  hieratic  posture,  - — seated  himself 
with  his  lower  limbs  folded  beneath 
him,  and  the  palms  of  his  hands  up 
ward,  the  right  upon  the  left,  the  left 
resting  upon  the  sole  of  his  upturned 
foot, — he  resumed  his  meditation. 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     189 


DAWN  blushed:  day  brightened. 
The  sun  shortened  all  the  shadows 
of  the  land,  and  lengthened  them  again, 
and  sank  at  last  upon  his  funeral  pyre 
of  crimson-burning  cloud.  Night  came 
and  glittered  and  passed.  But  Mara 
had  tempted  in  vain.  This  time  the 
vow  had  been  fulfilled,  the  holy  pur 
pose  accomplished. 

And  again  the  sun  arose  to  fill  the 
world  with  laughter  of  light ;  flowers 
opened  their  hearts  to  him  ;  birds  sang 
their  morning  hymn  of  fire  worship ; 
the  deep  forest  trembled  with  delight ; 
and  far  upon  the  plain,  the  eaves  of 
many-storied  temples  and  the  peaked 
caps  of  the  city-towers  caught  aureate 
glory.  Strong  in  the  holiness  of  his 
accomplished  vow,  the  Indian  pilgrim 


i/io     Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 

arose  in  the  morning  glow.  He  started 
for  amazement  as  he  lifted  his  hands 
to  his  eyes.  What!  was  everything 
a  dream?  Impossible!  Yet  now  his 
eyes  felt  no  pain ;  neither  were  they 
lidless ;  not  even  so  much  as  one  of 
their  lashes  was  lacking.  What  marvel 
had  been  wrought?  In  vain  he  looked 
for  the  severed  lids  that  he  had  flung 
upon  the  ground ;  they  had  mysteri 
ously  vanished.  But  lo!  there  where 
he  had  cast  them  two  wondrous  shrubs 
were  growing,  with  dainty  leaflets 
eyelid-shaped,  and  snowy  buds  just 
opening  to  the  East. 

Then,  by  virtue  of  the  supernatural 
power  acquired  in  that  mighty  medita 
tion,  it  was  given  the  holy  missionary 
to  know  the  secret  of  that  newly  cre 
ated  plant,  —  the  subtle  virtue  of  its 
leaves.  And  he  named  it,  in  the  Ian- 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant     i4i 

guage  of  the  nation  to  whom  he  brought 
the  Lotos  of  the  Good  Law,  •'  TE" ; 
and  he  spake  to  it,  saying:  — 

' '  Blessed  be  thou,  sweet  plant,  benefi 
cent,  life-giving,  formed  by  the  spirit 
of  virtuous  resolve !  Lo  !  the  fame  of 
thee  shall  yet  spread  unto  the  ends  of 
the  earth;  and  the  perfume  of  thy 
life  be  borne  unto  the  uttermost  parts 
by  all  the  winds  of  heaven  I  Verily, 
for  all  time  to  come  men  who  drink 
of  thy  sap  shall  find  such  refreshment 
that  weariness  may  not  overcome  them 
nor  languor  seize  upon  them  ;  — neither 
shall  they  know  the  confusion  of  drow 
siness,  nor  any  desire  for  slumber  in 
the  hour  of  duty  or  of  prayer.  Blessed 
be  thou  1 " 


Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant 


AND  still,  as  a  mist  of  incense, 
2\.  as  a  smoke  of  universal  sacrifice, 
perpetually  ascends  to  heaven  from  all 
the  lands  of  earth  the  pleasant  vapor 
of  TE,  created  for  the  refreshment  of 
mankind  by  the  power  of  a  holy  vow, 
the  virtue  of  a  pious  atonement. 


The  Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 


It  is  written  in  the  FONG-HO-CHIN-TCH'OUEN, 
that  whenever  the  artist  Thsang-Kong  was 
in  doubt,  he  would  look  into  the  fire  of  the 
great  oven  in  which  his  vases  were  baking, 
and  question  the  Guardian-Spirit  dwelling 
in  the  flame.  And  the  Spirit  of  the  Oven- 
fires  so  aided  him  with  his  counsels,  that 
the  porcelains  made  by  Thsang-Kong  were 
indeed  finer  and  lovelier  to  look  upon  than 
all  other  porcelains.  And  they  were  baked 
in  the  years  of  Khang-hi,  —  sacredly  called 
Jin  Houang-ti. 


THE   TALE   OF   THE   PORCELAIN- 
GOD 

WHO  first  of  men  discovered  the 
secret  of  the  Kao-ling,  of  the 
Pe-tan-tse, — the  bones  and  the  flesh, 
the  skeleton  and  the  skin,  of  the  beau 
teous  Vase?  Who  first  discovered  the 
virtue  of  the  curd-white  clay?  Who 
first  prepared  the  ice-pure  bricks  of 
tun:  the  gathered-hoariness  of  moun 
tains  that  have  died  for  age ;  blanched 
dust  of  the  rocky  bones  and  the  stony 
flesh  of  sun-seeking  Giants  that  have 
ceased  to  be  ?  Unto  whom  was  it  first 
given  to  discover  the  divine  art  of 
porcelain  ? 

Unto  Pu,   once  a  man,  now  a  god, 
before  whose    snowy   statues  bow   the 


10 


1 46     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

myriad  populations  enrolled  in  the 
guilds  of  the  potteries.  But  the  place 
of  his  birth  we  know  not ;  perhaps  the 
tradition  of  it  may  have  been  effaced 
from  remembrance  by  that  awful  war 
which  in  our  own  day  consumed  the 
lives  of  twenty  millions  of  the  Black- 
haired  Race,  and  obliterated  from  the 
face  of  the  world  even  the  wonderful 
City  of  Porcelain  itself,  —  the  City  of 
King-te-chin,  that  of  old  shone  like  a 
jewel  of  fire  in  the  blue  mountain- 
girdle  of  Feou-liang. 

Before  his  time  indeed  the  Spirit  of 
the  Furnace  had  being;  had  issued 
from  the  Infinite  Vitality ;  had  become 
manifest  as  an  emanation  of  the  Su 
preme  Tao.  For  Hoang-ti,  nearly  five 
thousand  years  ago,  taught  men  to 
make  good  vessels  of  baked  clay;  and 
in  his  time  all  potters  had  learned 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     1^7 

to  know  the  God  of  Oven-fires,  and 
turned  their  wheels  to  the  murmuring 
of  prayer.  But  Hoang-ti  had  been 
gathered  unto  his  fathers  for  thrice  ten 
hundred  years  before  that  man  was 
born  destined  by  the  Master  of  Heaven 
to  become  the  Porcelain-God. 

And  his  divine  ghost,  ever  hovering 
above  the  smoking  and  the  toiling  of 
the  potteries,  still  gives  power  to  the 
thought  of  the  shaper,  grace  to  the 
genius  of  the  designer,  luminosity  to 
the  touch  of  the  enamellist.  For  by 
his  heaven-taught  wisdom  was  the  art 
of  porcelain  created;  by  his  inspira 
tion  were  accomplished  all  the  mira 
cles  of  Thao-yu,  maker  of  the  Kia-yu-ki, 
and  all  the  marvels  made  by  those  who 
followed  after  him ;  — 

All  the  azure  porcelains  called  You- 
kouo-thien-tsing ;  brilliant  as  a  mirror, 


1 48    Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

thin  as  paper  of  rice,  sonorous  as  the 
melodious  stone  Khing,  and  colored, 
in  obedience  to  the  mandate  of  the 
Emperor  Ghi-tsong,  "blue  as  the  sky 
is  after  rain,  when  viewed  through  the 
rifts  of  the  clouds."  These  were,  in 
deed,  the  first  of  all  porcelains,  likewise 
called  Tchai-yao,  which  no  man,  how 
soever  wicked,  could  find  courage  to 
break,  for  they  charmed  the  eye  like 
jewels  of  price;  — 

And  the  Jou-yao,  second  in  rank 
among  all  porcelains,  sometimes  mock 
ing  the  aspect  and  the  sonority  of 
bronze,  sometimes  blue  as  summer 
waters,  and  deluding  the  sight  with 
mucid  appearance  of  thickly  floating 
spawn  of  fish  ;  — 

And  the  Kouan-yao,  which  are  the 
Porcelains  of  Magistrates,  and  third  in 
rank  of  merit  among  all  wondrous 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     i/ig 

porcelains,  colored  with  colors  of  the 
morning, — skyey  blueness,  with  the 
rose  of  a  great  dawn  blushing  and 
bursting  through  it,  and  long-limbed 
marsh-birds  flying  against  the  glow; 

Also  the  Ko-yao, — fourth  in  rank 
among  perfect  porcelains, — of  fair, 
faint,  changing  colors,  like  the  body 
of  a  living  fish,  or  made  in  the  likeness 
of  opal  substance,  milk  mixed  with 
fire;  the  work  of  Sing-I,  elder  of  the 
immortal  brothers  Tchang ; 

Also  the  Ting-yao, — fifth  in  rank 
among  all  perfect  porcelains, — white 
as  the  mourning  garments  of  a  spouse 
bereaved,  and  beautiful  with  a  trickling 
as  of  tears,  — the  porcelains  sung  of  by 
the  poet  Son-tong-po  ; 

Also  the  porcelains  called  Pi-se-yao, 
whose  colors  are  called  "hidden,"  be 
ing  alternately  invisible  and  visible,  like 


i5o     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

the  tints  of  ice  beneath  the  sun, — the 
porcelains  celebrated  by  the  far-famed 
singer  Sin-in; 

Also  the  wondrous  Chu-yao,  — the  pal 
lid  porcelains  that  utter  a  mournful  cry 
when  smitten, — the  porcelains  chanted 
of  by  the  mighty  chanter,  Thou-chao- 
ling; 

Also  the  porcelains  called  Thsin-yao, 
white  or  blue,  surface- wrinkled  as 
the  face  of  water  by  the  fluttering  of 
many  fins.  .  .  .  And  ye  can  see  the 
fish! 

Also  the  vases  called  Tsi-hong-khi, 
red  as  sunset  after  a  rain ;  and  the  To- 
(ai-khi,  fragile  as  the  wings  of  the 
silkworm-moth,  lighter  than  the  shell 
of  an  egg; 

Also  the  Kia-tsing, — fair  cups  pearl- 
white  when  empty,  yet,  by  some  incom 
prehensible  witchcraft  of  construction, 


Tale  of  the  Procelain-God     i5i 

seeming  to  swarm  with  purple  fish  the 
moment  they  are  filled  with  water ; 

Also  the  porcelains  called  Yao-pien, 
whose  tints  are  transmuted  by  the 
alchemy  of  fire  ;  for  they  enter  blood- 
crimson  into  the  heat,  and  change 
there  to  lizard-green,  and  at  last  come 
forth  azure  as  the  cheek  of  the  sky ; 

Also  the  Ki-tcheou-yao,  which  are  all 
violet  as  a  summer's  night;  and  the 
Hing-yao  that  sparkle  with  the  spark- 
lings  of  mingled  silver  and  snow; 

Also  the  Sieouen-yao, — some  ruddy 
as  iron  in  the  furnace,  some  diapha 
nous  and  ruby-red,  some  granulated  and 
yellow  as  the  rind  of  an  orange,  some 
softly  flushed  as  the  skin  of  a  peach ; 

Also  the  Tsoui-khi-yao,  crackled  and 
green,  as  ancient  ice  is ;  and  the  Tchou- 
fou-yao,  which  are  the  Porcelains  of 
Emperors,  with  dragons  wriggling  and 


1 52     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

snarling  in  gold  ;  and  those  yao  that 
are  pink-ribbed  and  have  their  angles 
serrated  as  the  claws  of  crabs  are; 

Also  the  Ou-ni-yao,  black  as  the  pupil 
of  the  eye,  and  as  lustrous ;  and  the 
Hou-tien-yao ,  darkly  yellow  as  the  faces 
of  men  of  India ;  and  the  Ou-kong-yao, 
whose  color  is  the  dead-gold  of  autumn- 
leaves  ; 

Also  the  Long-kang-yao,  green  as  the 
seedling  of  a  pea,  but  bearing  also 
paintings  of  sun-silvered  cloud,  and  of 
the  Dragons  of  Heaven ; 

Also  the  Tching-hoa-yao, — pictured 
with  the  amber  bloom  of  grapes  and  the 
verdure  of  vine-leaves  and  the  blossom 
ing  of  poppies,  or  decorated  in  relief 
with  figures  of  fighting  crickets ; 

Also  the  Khang-hi-nien-tsang-yao,  ce 
lestial  azure  sown  with  star-dust  of 
gold;  and  the  Khien-long-nien-thang-yao , 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     i53 

splendid  in  sable  and  silver  as  a  fervid 
night  that  is  flashed  with  lightnings. 

Not  indeed  the  Long-Ouang-yao ,  — 
painted  with  the  lascivious  Pi-hi,  with 
the  obscene  Nan-niu-sse-sie,  with  the 
shameful  Tchun-hoa,  or  "Pictures  of 
Spring"  ;  abominations  created  by  com 
mand  of  the  wicked  Emperor  Moutsong, 
though  the  Spirit  of  the  Furnace  hid 
his  face  and  fled  away ; 

But  all  other  vases  of  startling  form 
and  substance,  magically  articulated, 
and  ornamented  with  figures  in  relief, 
in  cameo,  in  transparency, — the  vases 
with  orifices  belled  like  the  cups  of 
flowers,  or  cleft  like  the  bills  of  birds, 
or  fanged  like  the  jaws  of  serpents,  or 
pink-lipped  as  the  mouth  of  a  girl ;  the 
vases  flesh-colored  and  purple-veined 
and  dimpled,  with  ears  and  with  ear 
rings  ;  the  vases  in  likeness  of  mush- 


1 54     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

rooms,  of  lotos-flowers,  of  lizards,  of 
horse-footed  dragons  woman-faced ;  the 
vases  strangely  translucid,  that  sim 
ulate  the  white  glimmering  of  grains 
of  prepared  rice,  that  counterfeit  the 
vapory  lace-work  of  frost,  that  imitate 
the  efflorescences  of  coral ;  — 

Also  the  statues  in  porcelain  of  divin 
ities  :  the  Genius  of  the  Hearth ;  the 
Long-pinn  who  are  the  Twelve  Deities 
of  Ink;  the  blessed  Lao-tseu,  born 
with  silver  hair ;  Kong-fu-tse,  grasp 
ing  the  scroll  of  written  wisdom ; 
Kouan-in,  sweetest  Goddess  of  Mercy, 
standing  snowy-footed  upon  the  heart 
of  her  golden  lily ;  Chi-nong,  the  god 
who  taught  men  how  to  cook ;  Fo, 
with  long  eyes  closed  in  meditation, 
and  lips  smiling  the  mysterious  smile 
of  Supreme  Beatitude;  Cheou-lao,  god 
of  Longevity,  bestriding  his  aerial  steed, 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     i55 

the  white-winged  stork ;  Pou-t'ai,  Lord 
of  Contentment  and  of  Wealth,  obese 
and  dreamy;  and  that  fairest  Goddess 
of  Talent,  from  whose  beneficent  hands 
eternally  streams  the  iridescent  rain 
of  pearls. 


1 56     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 


A  ND  though  many  a  secret  of  that 
_/~\_  matchless  art  that  Pu  bequeathed 
unto  men  may  indeed  have  been  for 
gotten  and  lost  forever,  the  story  of  the 
Porcelain-God  is  remembered ;  and  I 
doubt  not  that  any  of  the  aged  Jeou-yen- 
liao-kong,  any  one  of  the  old  blind  men 
of  the  great  potteries,  who  sit  all  day 
grinding  colors  in  the  sun,  could  tell 
you  Pu  was  once  a  humble  Chinese 
workman,  who  grew  to  be  a  great 
artist  by  dint  of  tireless  study  and  pa 
tience  and  by  the  inspiration  of  Heaven. 
So  famed  he  became  that  some  deemed 
him  an  alchemist,  who  possessed  the 
secret  called  White-and- Yellow,  by  which 
stones  might  be  turned  into  gold ;  and 
others  thought  him  a  magician,  having 
the  ghastly  power  of  murdering  men 
with  horror  of  nightmare,  by  hiding 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     i5y 

charmed  effigies  of  them  under  the  tiles 
of  their  own  roofs;  and  others,  again, 
averred  that  he  was  an  astrologer  who 
had  discovered  the  mystery  of  those 
Five  Hing  which  influence  all  things, — 
those  Powers  that  move  even  in  the 
currents  of  the  star-drift,  in  the  milky 
Tien-ho,  or  River  of  the  Sky.  Thus,  at 
least,  the  ignorant  spoke  of  him;  but 
even  those  who  stood  about  the  Son  of 
Heaven,  those  whose  hearts  had  been 
strengthened  by  the  acquisition  of  wis 
dom,  wildly  praised  the  marvels  of  his 
handicraft,  and  asked  each  other  if  there 
might  be  any  imaginable  form  of  beauty 
which  Pu  could  not  evoke  from  that 
beauteous  substance  so  docile  to  the 
touch  of  his  cunning  hand. 

And  one  day  it  came  to  pass  that 
Pu  sent  a  priceless  gift  to  the  Celes 
tial  and  August :  a  vase  imitating  the 


1 58     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

substance  of  ore-rock,  all  aflame  with 
pyritic  scintillation, — a  shape  of  glitter 
ing  splendor  with  chameleons  sprawl 
ing  over  it;  chameleons  of  porcelain 
that  shifted  color  as  often  as  the  be 
holder  changed  his  position.  And  the 
Emperor,  wondering  exceedingly  at 
the  splendor  of  the  work,  questioned 
the  princes  and  the  mandarins  concern 
ing  him  that  made  it.  And  the  princes 
and  the  mandarins  answered  that  he 
was  a  workman  named  Pu,  and  that 
he  was  without  equal  among  potters, 
knowing  secrets  that  seemed  to  have 
been  inspired  either  by  gods  or  by  de 
mons.  Whereupon  the  Son  of  Heaven 
sent  his  officers  to  Pu  with  a  noble  gift, 
and  summoned  him  unto  his  presence. 

So  the  humble  artisan  entered  before 
the  Emperor,  and  having  performed 
the  supreme  prostration, — thrice  kneel- 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     169 

ing,  and  thrice  nine  times  touching  the 
ground  with  his  forehead,  —  awaited 
the  command  of  the  August. 

And  the  Emperor  spake  to  him,  say 
ing  :  * '  Son,  thy  gracious  gift  hath  found 
high  favor  in  our  sight;  and  for  the 
charm  of  that  offering  we  have  be 
stowed  upon  thee  a  reward  of  five 
thousand  silver  Hang.  But  thrice  that 
sum  shall  be  awarded  thee  so  soon  as 
thou  shalt  have  fulfilled  our  behest. 
Hearken,  therefore,  0  matchless  artifi 
cer!  it  is  now  our  will  that  thou 
make  for  us  a  vase  having  the  tint  and 
the  aspect  of  living  flesh,  but  —  mark 
well  our  desire  1 — of  flesh  made  to  creep 
by  the  utterance  of  such  words  as  poets 
utter,  — flesh  moved  by  an  Idea,  flesh  hor- 
ripilated  by  a  Thought !  Obey,  and 
answer  not!  We  have  spoken." 


160     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

NOW  Pu  was  the  most  cunning  of 
all  the  P' ei-se-kong ,  —  the  men 
who  marry  colors  together ;  of  all  the 
Hoa-yang-kong ,  who  draw  the  shapes  of 
vase-decoration ;  of  all  the  Hoei-sse-kong , 
who  paint  in  enamel ;  of  all  the  Tien- 
thsai-kong,  who  brighten  color ;  of  all  the 
Chao-lou-kong ,  who  watch  the  furnace- 
fires  and  the  porcelain-ovens.  But  he 
went  away  sorrowing  from  the  Palace 
of  the  Son  of  Heaven,  notwithstanding 
the  gift  of  five  thousand  silver  Hang 
which  had  been  given  to  him.  For 
he  thought  to  himself :  * '  Surely  the 
mystery  of  the  comeliness  of  flesh,  and 
the  mystery  of  that  by  which  it  is 
moved,  are  the  secrets  of  the  Supreme 
Tao.  How  shall  man  lend  the  aspect 
of  sentient  life  to  dead  clay  ?  Who  save 
the  Infinite  can  give  soul?'* 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     161 

Now  Pu  had  discovered  those  witch 
crafts  of  color,  those  surprises  of  grace, 
that  make  the  art  of  the  ceramist.  He 
had  found  the  secret  of  the  feng-hong, 
the  wizard  flush  of  the  Rose ;  of  the  hoa- 
hong,  the  delicious  incarnadine  ;  of  the 
mountain-green  called  chan-lou;  of  the 
pale  soft  yellow  termed  hiao-hoang-yeou ; 
and  of  the  hoang-kin,  which  is  the  blaz 
ing  beauty  of  gold.  He  had  found  those 
eel-tints,  those  serpent-greens,  those 
pansy-violets,  those  furnace-crimsons, 
those  carminates  and  lilacs,  subtle  as 
spirit-flame,  which  our  enamellists  of 
the  Occident  long  sought  without  suc 
cess  to  reproduce.  But  he  trembled  at 
the  task  assigned  him,  as  he  returned 
to  the  toil  of  his  studio,  saying:  "  How 
shall  any  miserable  man  render  in  clay 
the  quivering  of  flesh  to  an  Idea,  — the 
inexplicable  horripilation  of  a  Thought  ? 


ii 


1 62     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

Shall  a  man  venture  to  mock  the  magic 
of  that  Eternal  Moulder  by  whose  in 
finite  power  a  million  suns  are  shapen 
more  readily  than  one  small  jar  might 
be  rounded  upon  my  wheel?" 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     iG3 


"\7~ET  the  command  of  the  Celestial 
JL  and  August  might  never  be  dis 
obeyed  ;  and  the  patient  workman  strove 
with  all  his  power  to  fulfil  the  Son  of 
Heaven's  desire.  But  vainly  for  days, 
for  weeks,  for  months,  for  season  after 
season,  did  he  strive;  vainly  also  he 
prayed  unto  the  gods  to  aid  him ; 
vainly  he  besought  the  Spirit  of  the 
Furnace,  crying:  "0  thou  Spirit  of 
Fire,  hear  me,  heed  me,  help  me!  how 
shall  I, — a  miserable  man,  unable  to 
breathe  into  clay  a  living  soul, — how 
shall  I  render  in  this  inanimate  sub 
stance  the  aspect  of  flesh  made  to  creep 
by  the  utterance  of  a  Word,  sentient  to 
the  horripilation  of  a  Thought?" 

For  the  Spirit  of  the  Furnace  made 
strange  answer  to  him  with  whispering 


1 64    Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

of  fire:  •'  Vast  thy  faith,  weird  thy 
prayer!  Has  Thought  feet,  that  man 
may  perceive  the  trace  of  its  passing? 
Canst  thou  measure  me  the  blast  of  the 
Wind?" 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     i65 


TVTEVERTHELESS,  with  purpose 
1  1  unmoved,  nine-and-forty  times 
did  Pu  seek  to  fulfil  the  Emperor's 
command ;  nine-and-forty  times  he 
strove  to  obey  the  behest  of  the  Son  of 
Heaven.  Vainly,  alas!  did  he  consume 
his  substance ;  vainly  did  he  expend  his 
strength ;  vainly  did  he  exhaust  his 
knowledge :  success  smiled  not  upon 
him;  and  Evil  visited  his  home,  and 
Poverty  sat  in  his  dwelling,  and  Misery 
shivered  at  his  hearth. 

Sometimes,  when  the  hour  of  trial 
came,  it  was  found  that  the  colors  had 
become  strangely  transmuted  in  the 
firing,  or  had  faded  into  ashen  pallor, 
or  had  darkened  into  the  fuliginous 
hue  of  forest-mould.  And  Pu,  behold 
ing  these  misfortunes,  made  wail  to  the 


1 66     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

Spirit  of  the  Furnace,  praying :  *  *  0  thou 
Spirit  of  Fire,  how  shall  I  render  the 
likeness  of  lustrous  flesh,  the  warm  glow 
of  living  color,  unless  thou  aid  me?" 

And  the  Spirit  of  the  Furnace  mys 
teriously  answered  him  with  murmuring 
of  fire :  ' '  Canst  thou  learn  the  art  of 
that  Infinite  Enameller  who  hath  made 
beautiful  the  Arch  of  Heaven,  —  whose 
brush  is  Light;  whose  paints  are  the 
Colors  of  the  Evening?" 

Sometimes,  again,  even  when  the  tints 
had  not  changed,  after  the  pricked  and 
labored  surface  had  seemed  about  to 
quicken  in  the  heat,  to  assume  the 
vibratility  of  living  skin, — even  at  the 
last  hour  all  the  labor  of  the  workers 
proved  to  have  been  wasted;  for  the 
fickle  substance  rebelled  against  their 
efforts,  producing  only  crinklings  gro 
tesque  as  those  upon  the  rind  of  a 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     167 

withered  fruit,  or  granulations  like 
those  upon  the  skin  of  a  dead  bird 
from  which  the  feathers  have  been 
rudely  plucked.  And  Pu  wept,  and 
cried  out  unto  the  Spirit  of  the  Fur 
nace :  "O  thou  Spirit  of  Flame,  how 
shall  I  be  able  to  imitate  the  thrill  of 
flesh  touched  by  a  Thought,  unless  thou 
wilt  vouchsafe  to  lend  me  thine  aid?" 

And  the  Spirit  of  the  Furnace  mys 
teriously  answered  him  with  mutter 
ing  of  fire :  * '  Canst  thou  give  ghost 
unto  a  stone?  Canst  thou  thrill  with 
a  Thought  the  entrails  of  the  granite 
hills?" 

Sometimes  it  was  found  that  all  the 
work  indeed  had  not  failed;  for  the 
color  seemed  good,  and  all  faultless 
the  matter  of  the  vase  appeared  to 
be,  having  neither  crack  nor  wrink 
ling  nor  crinkling ;  but  the  pliant  soft- 


1 68     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

ness  of  warm  skin  did  not  meet  the 
eye;  the  flesh-tinted  surface  offered 
only  the  harsh  aspect  and  hard  glim 
mer  of  metal.  All  their  exquisite  toil 
to  mock  the  pulpiness  of  sentient  sub 
stance  had  left  no  trace;  had  been 
brought  to  nought  by  the  breath  of 
the  furnace.  And  Pu,  in  his  despair, 
shrieked  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Furnace: 
"0  thou  merciless  divinity!  0  thou 
most  pitiless  god! — thou  whom  I  have 
worshipped  with  ten  thousand  sacri 
fices! — for  what  fault  hast  thou  aban 
doned  me?  for  what  error  hast  thou 
forsaken  me?  How  may  I,  most 
wretched  of  men !  ever  render  the  as 
pect  of  flesh  made  to  creep  with  the 
utterance  of  a  Word,  sentient  to  the 
titillation  of  a  Thought,  if  thou  wilt 
not  aid  me?" 

And  the  Spirit  of  the  Furnace  made 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     169 

answer  unto  him  with  roaring  of  fire: 
"  Canst  thou  divide  a  Soul?  Nay  /  .  .  . 
Thy  life  for  the  life  of  thy  work!  —  thy 
soul  for  the  soul  of  thy  Vase!" 

And  hearing  these  words  Pu  arose 
with  a  terrible  resolve  swelling  at  his 
heart,  and  made  ready  for  the  last  and 
fiftieth  time  to  fashion  his  work  for  the 
oven. 

One  hundred  times  did  he  sift  the 
clay  and  the  quartz,  the  kao-ling  and 
the  tun;  one  hundred  times  did  he 
purify  them  in  clearest  water ;  one 
hundred  times  with  tireless  hands  did 
he  knead  the  creamy  paste,  mingling 
it  at  last  with  colors  known  only  to 
himself.  Then  was  the  vase  shapen 
and  reshapen,  and  touched  and  re 
touched  by  the  hands  of  Pu,  until 
its  blandness  seemed  to  live,  until  it 
appeared  to  quiver  and  to  palpitate, 


170     Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

as  with  vitality  from  within,  as  with 
the  quiver  of  rounded  muscle  undulat 
ing  beneath  the  integument.  For  the 
hues  of  life  were  upon  it  and  infiltrated 
throughout  its  innermost  substance, 
imitating  the  carnation  of  blood-bright 
tissue,  and  the  reticulated  purple  of  the 
veins ;  and  over  all  was  laid  the  en 
velope  of  sun-colored  Pe-kia-ho,  the 
lucid  and  glossy  enamel,  half  diapha 
nous,  even  like  the  substance  that  it 
counterfeited, — the  polished  skin  of  a 
woman.  Never  since  the  making  of  the 
world  had  any  work  comparable  to  this 
been  wrought  by  the  skill  of  man. 

Then  Pu  bade  those  who  aided  him 
that  they  should  feed  the  furnace  well 
with  wood  of  tcha;  but  he  told  his 
resolve  unto  none.  Yet  after  the  oven 
began  to  glow,  and  he  saw  the  work 
of  his  hands  blossoming  and  blushing 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     171 

in  the  heat,  he  bowed  himself  before 
the  Spirit  of  Flame,  and  murmured : 
"0  thou  Spirit  and  Master  of  Fire,  I 
know  the  truth  of  thy  words !  I  know 
that  a  Soul  may  never  be  divided! 
Therefore  my  life  for  the  life  of  my 
work! — my  soul  for  the  soul  of  my 
Vase!" 

And  for  nine  days  and  for  eight 
nights  the  furnaces  were  fed  unceas 
ingly  with  wood  of  tcha ;  for  nine 
days  and  for  eight  nights  men  watched 
the  wondrous  vase  crystallizing  into 
being,  rose-lighted  by  the  breath  of 
the  flame.  Now  upon  the  coming  of 
the  ninth  night,  Pu  bade  all  his  weary 
comrades  retire  to,  rest,  for  that  the 
work  was  well-nigh  done,  and  the  suc 
cess  assured.  * '  If  you  find  me  not 
here  at  sunrise,"  he  said,  "fear  not  to 


172    Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

take  forth  the  vase ;  for  I  know  that 
the  task  will  have  heen  accomplished 
according  to  the  command  of  the  Au 
gust."  So  they  departed. 

But  in  that  same  ninth  night  Pu 
entered  the  flame,  and  yielded  up  his 
ghost  in  the  embrace  of  the  Spirit 
of  the  Furnace,  giving  his  life  for  the 
life  of  his  work, — his  soul  for  the  soul 
of  his  Vase. 

And  when  the  workmen  came  upon 
the  tenth  morning  to  take  forth  the 
porcelain  marvel,  even  the  bones  of 
Pu  had  ceased  to  be ;  but  lo !  the 
Vase  lived  as  they  looked  upon  it: 
seeming  to  be  flesh  moved  by  the 
utterance  of  a  Word,  creeping  to  the 
titillation  of  a  Thought.  And  when 
ever  tapped  by  the  finger  it  uttered 
a  voice  and  a  name, — the  voice  of  its 
maker,  the  name  of  its  creator :  PU. 


Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God     178 


AND  the  Son  of  Heaven,  hearing  of 
these  things,  and  viewing  the  mir 
acle  of  the  vase,  said  unto  those  about 
him:  " Verily,  the  Impossible  hath 
been  wrought  by  the  strength  of  faith, 
by  the  force  of  obedience!  Yet  never 
was  it  our  desire  that  so  cruel  a  sac 
rifice  should  have  been;  we  sought 
only  to  know  whether  the  skill  of  the 
matchless  artificer  came  from  the  Di 
vinities  or  from  the  Demons, — from 
heaven  or  from  hell.  Now,  indeed,  we 
discern  that  Pu  hath  taken  his  place 
among  the  gods."  And  the  Emperor 
mourned  exceedingly  for  his  faithful 
servant.  But  he  ordained  that  god 
like  honors  should  be  paid  unto  the 
spirit  of  the  marvellous  artist,  and  that 
his  memory  should  be  revered  forever- 


1 74    Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God 

more,  and  that  fair  statues  of  him 
should  be  set  up  in  all  the  cities  of 
the  Celestial  Empire,  and  above  all 
the  toiling  of  the  potteries,  that  the 
multitude  of  workers  might  unceas 
ingly  call  upon  his  name  and  invoke 
his  benediction  upon  their  labors. 


Notes 


NOTES 

"  The  Sod  of  the  Great  Bell."  —  The 
story  of  Ko-Ngai  is  one  of  the  collection 
entitled  Pe-Hiao-Tou-Choue,  or  "A  Hun 
dred  Examples  of  Filial  Piety."  It  is  very 
simply  told  by  the  Chinese  narrator.  The 
scholarly  French  consul,  P.  Dabry  de 
Thiersant,  translated  and  published  in 
1877  a  portion  of  the  book,  including  the 
legend  of  the  Bell.  His  translation  is 
enriched  with  a  number  of  Chinese  draw 
ings  ;  and  there  is  a  quaint  little  picture 
of  Ko-Ngai  leaping  into  the  molten  metal. 

"  The  Story  of  Ming-Y"  —  The  singu 
lar  phantom-tale  upon  which  my  work  is 
based  forms  the  thirty-fourth  story  of  the 
famous  collection  Kin-Kou-Ki-Koan,  and 
was  first  translated  under  the  title,  "La 
Bacheliere  du  Pays  de  Chu,"  by  the  learned 
Gustave  Schlegel,  as  an  introduction  to 
his  publication  (accompanied  by  a  French 


12 


178  Notes 

version)  of  the  curious  and  obscene  Mai- 
yu-lang-tou-tchen-hoa-kom'i  (Ley  den ,  1877), 
which  itself  forms  the  seventh  recital  of 
the  same  work.  Schlegel,  Julien,  Gard 
ner,  Birch,  D'Entrecolles,  Remusat,  Pavie, 
Olyphant,  Grisebach,  Hervey-Saint-Denys, 
and  others,  have  given  the  Occidental  world 
translations  of  eighteen  stories  from  the 
Kin-Kou-Ki-Koan  ;  namely,  Nos.  2,  3,  5, 
6,  7,  8,  10,  i4,  19,  20,  26,  27,  29,  3o, 
3i,  34,  35,  and  3g.  The  Chinese  work 
itself  dates  back  to  the  thirteenth  century  ; 
but  as  it  forms  only  a  collection  of  the 
most  popular  tales  of  that  epoch,  many 
of  the  stories  selected  by  the  Chinese 
editor  may  have  had  a  much  more  ancient 
origin.  There  are  forty  tales  in  the  Kin- 
Kou-Ki-Koan. 

11  The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu"  —  My  autho 
rity  for  this  tale  is  the  following  legend 
from  the  thirty-fourth  chapter  of  the  Kan- 
ing-p'ien,  or  "Book  of  Rewards  and 
Punishments,"  —  a  work  attributed  to 
Lao-tseu,  which  contains  some  four  hun- 


Notes  179 

dred  anecdotes  and  traditions  of  the  most 
curious  kind  :  — 

Tong-yong,  who  lived  under  the  Han  dynasty,  was  re 
duced  to  a  state  of  extreme  poverty.  Having  lost  his 
father,  he  sold  himself  in  order  to  obtain  .  .  .  the  where 
withal  to  bury  him  and  to  build  him  a  tomb.  The  Master 
of  Heaven  took  pity  on  him,  and  sent  the  Goddess  Tchi- 
Niu  to  him  to  become  his  wife.  She  wove  a  piece  of 
silk  for  him  every  day  until  she  was  able  to  buy  his 
freedom,  after  which  she  gave  him  a  son,  and  went  back 
to  heaven.—  Julien's  French  Translation,  p.  119. 

Lest  the  reader  should  suppose,  how 
ever,  that  I  have  drawn  wholly  upon  my 
own  imagination  for  the  details  of  the 
apparition,  the  cure,  the  marriage  cere 
mony,  etc.,  I  refer  him  to  No.  XGVI.  of 
Giles's  **  Strange  Stories  from  a  Chinese 
Studio,"  entitled,  "  A  Supernatural  Wife," 
in  which  he  will  find  that  my  narrative  is 
at  least  conformable  to  Chinese  ideas. 
(This  story  first  appeared  in  "  Harper's 
Bazar,"  and  is  republished  here  by 
permission.) 

"  The  Return  of  Y en-T chin-King  "  — 
There  may  be  an  involuntary  anachronism 
in  my  version  of  this  legend,  which  is 


180  Notes 

very  pithily  narrated  in  the  Kan-ing-p'ien. 
No  emperor's  name  is  cited  by  the  homi- 
list  ;  and  the  date  of  the  revolt  seems  to 
have  been  left  wholly  to  conjecture.  — 
Baber,  in  his  "  Memoirs,"  mentions  one  of 
his  Mongol  archers  as  able  to  bend  a  two- 
hundred-pound  bow  until  the  ears  met. 

"  The  Tradition  of  the  Tea-Plant"  — 
My  authority  for  this  bit  of  folklore  is  the 
brief  statement  published  by  Bretschneider 
in  the  **  Chinese  Recorder"  for  1871  :  — 

"  A  Japanese  legend  says  that  about  A.D.  619,  a  Bud 
dhist  priest  came  to  China,  and,  in  order  to  dedicate  his 
soul  entirely  to  God,  he  made  a  vow  to  pass  the  day  and 
night  in  an  uninterrupted  and  unbroken  meditation.  After 
many  years  of  this  continual  watching,  he  was  at  length 
so  tired  that  he  fell  asleep.  On  awaking  the  following 
morning,  he  was  so  sorry  he  had  broken  his  vow  that  he 
cut  off  both  his  eyelids  and  threw  them  upon  the  ground. 
Returning  to  the  same  place  the  following  day  he  observed 
that  each  eyelid  had  become  a  shrub.  This  was  the  tea- 
s/i/'u6,  unknown  until  that  time." 

Bretschneider  adds  that  the  legend  in 
question  seems  not  to  be  known  to  the 
Chinese ;  yet  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
Buddhism  itself,  with  all  its  marvellous 


Notes  181 

legends,  was  received  by  the  Japanese 
from  China,  it  is  certainly  probable  this 
legend  had  a  Chinese  origin,  —  subse 
quently  disguised  by  Japanese  chronology. 
My  Buddhist  texts  were  drawn  from  Fer- 
nand  Hu's  translation  of  the  Dhammapada, 
and  from  Leon  Peer's  translation  from  the 
Thibetan  of  the  "  Sutra  in  Forty-two 
Articles."  An  Orientalist  who  should  con 
descend  in  a  rare  leisure-moment  to  glance 
at  my  work  might  also  discover  that  I  had 
borrowed  an  idea  or  two  from  the  Sanscrit 
poet,  Bhamini-Vilasa. 

"  The  Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God"  — 
The  good  Pere  d'Entrecolles,  who  first 
gave  to  Europe  the  secrets  of  Chinese 
porcelain-manufacture,  wrote  one  hundred 
and  sixty  years  ago  :  — 

"  The  Emperors  of  China  are,  during  their  lifetime,  the 
most  redoubted  of  divinities ;  and  they  believe  that  noth 
ing  should  ever  stand  in  the  way  of  their  desires.  .  .  . 

"It  is  related  that  once  upon  a  time  a  certain  Emperor 
insisted  that  some  porcelains  should  be  made  for  him 
according  to  a  model  which  he  gave.  It  was  answered 
that  the  thing  was  simply  impossible ;  but  all  such  re 
monstrances  only  served  to  excite  his  desire  more  and 


i8a  Notes 

more.  .  .  .  The  officers  charged  by  the  demigod  to  super 
vise  and  hasten  the  work  treated  the  workmen  with  great 
harshness.  The  poor  wretches  spent  all  their  money, 
took  exceeding  pains,  and  received  only  hlows  in  return. 
One  of  them,  in  a  fit  of  despair,  leaped  into  the  blazing 
furnace,  and  was  instantly  burnt  to  ashes.  But  the  porce 
lain  that  was  being  baked  there  at  the  time  came  out, 
they  say,  perfectly  beautiful  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Emperor.  .  .  .  From  that  time,  the  unfortunate  workman 
was  regarded  as  a  hero ;  and  his  image  was  made  the  idol 
which  presides  over  the  manufacture  of  porcelain." 

It  appears  that  D'Entrecolles  mistook 
the  statue  of  Pou't'ai,  God  of  Comfort, 
for  that  of  the  real  porcelain-deity,  as 
Jacquemart  and  others  observe.  This  error 
does  not,  however,  destroy  the  beauty  of 
the  myth  ;  and  there  is  no  good  reason 
to  doubt  that  D'Entrecolles  related  it  as  it 
had  been  told  him  by  some  of  his  Chinese 
friends  at  King-te-chin.  The  researches 
of  Stanislas  Julien  and  others  have  only 
tended  to  confirm  the  trustworthiness 
of  the  Catholic  missionary's  statements 
in  other  respects ;  and  both  Julien  and 
Salve  tat,  in  their  admirable  French  render 
ing  of  the  King-te-chin-thao-lou,  "  History 
of  the  Porcelains  of  King-te-chin  "  (a  work 


Notes  1 83 

which  has  been  of  the  greatest  service  to 
me  in  the  preparation  of  my  little  story), 
quote  from  his  letters  at  considerable 
length,  and  award  him  the  highest  praise 
as  a  conscientious  investigator.  So  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  learn,  D'Entrecolles 
remains  the  sole  authority  for  the  myth ; 
but  his  affirmations  in  regard  to  other 
matters  have  withstood  the  severe  tests  of 
time  astonishingly  well ;  and  since  the 
Tai-ping  rebellion  destroyed  King-te-chin 
and  paralyzed  its  noble  industry,  the  value 
of  the  French  missionary's  documents  and 
testimony  has  become  widely  recognized. 
In  lieu  of  any  other  name  for  the  hero 
of  the  legend,  I  have  been  obliged  to 
retain  that  of  Pou,  or  Pu,  —  only  using 
it  without  the  affix  "t'ai,"  —  so  as  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  deity  of  comfort 
and  repose. 


Glossary 


GLOSSARY 

ABHIDHARMA. — The  metaphysics  of  Bud 
dhism  .  Buddhist  literature  is  classed  into 
three  great  divisions,  or  "  baskets";  the 
highest  of  these  is  the  Abhidharma.  .  .  . 
According  to  a  passage  in  Spence  Hardy's 
"  Manual  of  Buddhism,"  the  full  com 
prehension  of  the  Abhidharma  is  pos 
sible  only  for  a  Buddha  to  acquire. 

CHIH.  —  * '  House  "  ;  but  especially  the 
house  of  the  dead, — a  tomb. 

CHU-SHA-KIH.  — The  mandarin-orange. 

GRAMANA. — An  ascetic;  one  who  has  sub 
dued  his  senses.  For  an  interesting 
history  of  this  term,  see  Burnouf,  — 
« *  Introduction  a  1'histoire  du  Buddhisme 
Indien." 

DAMARI.  —  A  peculiar  chant,  of  some 
what  licentious  character,  most  com 
monly  sung  during  the  period  of  the 


1 88  Glossary 

Indian  carnival.  For  an  account,  at 
once  brief  and  entertaining,  of  Hindoo 
popular  songs  and  hymns,  see  Garcin  de 
Tassy,  —  "Chants  populaires  de  1'Inde." 

DOGS  OF  Fo. — The  Dog  of  Fo  is  one  of 
those  fabulous  monsters  in  the  sculptural 
representation  of  which  Chinese  art  has 
found  its  most  grotesque  expression.  It 
is  really  an  exaggerated  lion ;  and  the 
symbolical  relation  of  the  lion  to  Bud 
dhism  is  well  known.  Statues  of  these 
mythical  animals  —  sometimes  of  a  gran 
diose  and  colossal  execution  —  are  placed 
in  pairs  before  the  entrances  of  temples, 
palaces,  and  tombs,  as  tokens  of  honor, 
and  as  emblems  of  divine  protection. 

Fo.  —  Buddha  is  called  Fo,  Fuh,  Fuh-tu, 
Hwat,  Fat,  in  various  Chinese  dialects. 
The  name  is  thought  to  be  a  corrup 
tion  of  the  Hindoo  Bodh,  or  "Truth," 
due  to  the  imperfect  articulation  of  the 
Chinese.  ...  It  is  a  curious  fact  that 
the  Chinese  Buddhist  liturgy  is  Sanscrit 
transliterated  into  Chinese  characters, 


Glossary  189 

and  that  the  priests   have    lost  all  rec 
ollection     of    the    antique     tongue,  - 
repeating    the    texts   without    the    least 
comprehension  of  their  meaning. 

FUH-YIN. — An  official  holding  in  Chinese 
cities  a  position  corresponding  to  that 
of  mayor  in  the  Occident. 

FUNG-HOANG. — This  allegorical  bird,  cor 
responding  to  the  Arabian  phoenix  in 
some  respects,  is  described  as  being  five 
cubits  high,  having  feathers  of  five  dif 
ferent  colors,  and  singing  in  five  modu 
lations.  .  .  .  The  female  is  said  to  sing 
in  imperfect  tones ;  the  male  in  perfect 
tones.  The  fang-hoang  figures  largely 
in  Chinese  musical  myths  and  legends. 

GOPIA  (or  GOPIS). — Daughters  and  wives 
of  the  cowherds  of  Vrindavana,  among 
whom  Krishna  was  brought  up  after 
his  incarnation  as  the  eighth  avatar  of 
Vishnu.  Krishna's  amours  with  the 
shepherdesses,  or  Gopia,  form  the  sub 
ject  of  various  celebrated  mystical  writ 
ings,  especially  the  Pr em-Sag ar,  or 


i  go  Glossary 

"Ocean  of  Love"  (translated  by  East- 
wick  and  by  others);  and  the  sensuous 
Gita-Govinda  of  the  Bengalese  lyric  poet 
Jayadeva  (translated  into  French  prose 
by  Hippolyte  Fauche,  and  chastely 
rendered  into  English  verse  by  Edwin 
Arnold  in  the  *  *  Indian  Song  of  Songs-"). 
See  also  Burnouf's  partial  translation  of 
the  Bhagavata  Parana,  and  Theodore 
Pa  vie 's  **  Krichna  et  sa  doctrine."  .  .  . 
The  same  theme  has  inspired  some  of 
the  strangest  productions  of  Hindoo  art : 
for  examples,  see  plates  65  and  66  of 
Moor's  "Hindoo  Pantheon"  (edition  of 
1861).  For  accounts  of  the  erotic  mys 
ticism  connected  with  the  worship  of 
Krishna  and  the  Gopia,  the  reader  may 
also  be  referred  to  authorities  cited  in 
Earth's  "  Religions  of  India"  ;  De  Tassy's 
"Chants  populaires  de  1'Inde";  and 
Lamairesse's  * '  Poesies  populaires  du  Sud 
de  1'Inde." 

HAO-KHIEOU-TCHOUAN.  — This  celebrated 
Chinese  novel  was  translated  into  French 


Glossary  191 

by  M.  Guillard  d'Arcy  in  i842,  and 
appeared  under  the  title,  '  *  Hao-Khieou- 
Tchouan;  ou,  La  Femme  Accomplie." 
The  first  translation  of  the  romance  into 
any  European  tongue  was  a  Portuguese 
rendering ;  and  the  English  version  of 
Percy  is  based  upon  the  Portuguese 
text.  The  work  is  rich  in  poetical 
quotations. 

HEI-SONG-CHE-TCHOO.  —  "  One  day  when 
the  Emperor  Hiuan-tsong  of  the  Thang 
dynasty,"  says  the  Tao-kia-ping-yu-che, 
"  was  at  work  in  his  study,  a  tiny  Taoist 
priest,  no  bigger  than  a  fly,  rose  out 
of  the  inkstand  lying  upon  his  table, 
and  said  to  him  :  '  I  am  the  Genius  of 
ink;  my  name  is  Hei-song-che-tchoo 
[Envoy  of  the  Black  Fir]',  and  I  have 
come  to  tell  you  that  whenever  a  true 
sage  shall  sit  down  to  write,  the  Twelve 
Divinities  of  Ink  [Long-pinn]  will  appear 
upon  the  surface  of  the  ink  he  uses." 
See  "  L'Encre  de  Chine,"  by  Maurice 
Jametel.  Paris,  1882. 


192  Glossary 

HOA-TCHAO.  —  The  "  Birthday  of  a  Hun 
dred  Flowers"  falls  upon  the  fifteenth 
of  the  second  spring-moon. 

JADE.  —  Jade,  or  nephrite,  a  variety  of 
jasper,  —  called  by  the  Chinese  yah,  — 
has  always  been  highly  valued  by  them 
as  artistic  material.  .  .  .  In  the  "Book 
of  Rewards  and  Punishments,"  there  is 
a  curious  legend  to  the  effect  that  Con 
fucius,  after  the  completion  of  his  Hiao- 
King  ("  Book  of  Filial  Piety"),  having 
addressed  himself  to  Heaven,  a  crimson 
rainbow  fell  from  the  sky,  and  changed 
itself  at  his  feet  into  a  piece  of  yellow 
jade.  See  Stanislas  Julien's  translation, 
p.  495. 

KABIT.  —  A  poetical  form  much  in  favor 
with  composers  of  Hindoo  religious 
chants :  the  kabit  always  consists  of 
four  verses. 

KAO-LING.  —  Literally,  "  the  High  Ridge," 
and  originally  the  name  of  a  hilly  range 
which  furnished  the  best  quality  of  clay 
to  the  porcelain-makers.  Subsequently 


Glossary  ig3 

the    term    applied   by  long    custom    to 
designate    the     material    itself    became 
corrupted  into  the  word  now  familiar  in 
all  countries,  —  kaolin.     In  the  language 
of   the  Chinese    potters,   the  kaolin,  or 
clay,  was  poetically  termed  the  ' '  bones, " 
and  the  tan,  or  quartz,  the   "  flesh"  of 
the  porcelain  ;  while  the  prepared  bricks 
of  the  combined  substances  were  known 
as  pe-tan-tse.     Both  substances,  the  in 
fusible  and  the  fusible,  are  productions 
of    the    same    geological    formation,  — 
decomposed  feldspathic  rock. 

KASI  (or  VARANASI). — Ancient  name  of 
Benares,  the  "Sacred  City,"  believed 
to  have  been  founded  by  the  gods.  It 
is  also  called  "  The  Lotos  of  the  World." 
Barth  terms  it  ' '  the  Jerusalem  of  all 
the  sects  both  of  ancient  and  modern 
India.'  It  still  boasts  two  thousand 
shrines,  and  half  a  million  images  of 
divinities.  See  also  Sherring's  "  Sacred 
City  of  the  Hindoos." 

KIANG-KOU-JIN. — Literally,  the   "  tell-old- 
i3 


ig4  Glossary 

story-men."  For  a  brief  account  of 
Chinese  professional  story-tellers,  the 
reader  may  consult  Schlegel's  entertain 
ing  introduction  to  the  Mai-yu-lang-toti- 
tchen-hoa-koaei. 

Km.  —  The  most  perfect  of  Chinese  mu 
sical  instruments,  also  called  "  the 
Scholar's  Lute."  The  word  kin,  also 
means  "to  prohibit";  and  this  name 
is  said  to  have  been  given  to  the  instru 
ment  because  music,  according  to  Chi 
nese  belief,  '  *  restrains  evil  passions,  and 
corrects  the  human  heart."  See  Wil- 
liams's  "  Middle  Kingdom." 

KOUEI.  —  Kouei,  musician  to  the  Emperor 
Yao,  must  have  held  his  office  between 
2867  and  2277  B.  c.  The  extract  se 
lected  from  one  of  his  songs,  which 
I  have  given  at  the  beginning  of  the 
"  Story  of  Ming-Y,"  is  therefore  more 
than  four  thousand  years  old.  The 
same  chant  contains  another  remarkable 
fancy,  evidencing  Chinese  faith  in  musi 
cal  magic  :  — 


Glossary  ig5 

"  When  I  smite  my  [musical]  stone,  — 
Be  it  gently,  be  it  strongly, — 

Then  do  the  fiercest  beasts  of  prey  leap  high  for  joy, 
And  the  chiefs  among  the  public  officials  do  agree 
among  themselves." 

KWANG-CHAU-FU. — Literally,  "The  Broad 
City,"  —  the  name  of  Canton.  It  is 
also  called  "The  City  of  Genii." 
Li.  —  A  measure  of  distance.  The  length 
of  the  li  has  varied  considerably  in 
ancient  and  in  modern  times.  The 
present  is  given  by  Williams  as  ten  li 
to  a  league. 

LI-SAO.  —  "The  Dissipation  of  Grief,"  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  Chinese  poems 
of  the  classic  period.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  written  about  3i4  B.  c.,  by  Kiu- 
ping-youen,  minister  to  the  King  of 
Tsou.  Finding  himself  the  victim  of  a 
base  court-intrigue,  Kiu-ping  wrote  the 
Li-Sao  as  a  vindication  of  his  character, 
and  as  a  rebuke  to  the  malice  of  his  ene 
mies,  after  which  he  committed  suicide 
by  drowning.  .  .  .  A  fine  French  trans 
lation  of  the  Li-Sao  has  been  made  by 


196  Glossary 

the    Marquis    Hervey   de    Saint-Denys 
(Paris,  1870). 

LI-SHU.  —  The  second  of  the  six  styles  of 
Chinese  writing,  for  an  account  of  which 
see  William's  "Middle  Kingdom."  .  .  . 
According  to  various  Taoist  legends,  the 
decrees  of  Heaven  are  recorded  in  the 
"  Seal-character,"  the  oldest  of  all ;  and 
marks  upon  the  bodies  of  persons  killed 
by  lightning  have  been  interpreted  as 
judgments  written  in  it.  The  following 
extraordinary  tale  from  the  Kan-ing- 
p'ien  affords  a  good  example  of  the 
superstition  in  question  :  — 

Tchang-tchun  was  Minister  of  State  under  the  reign  of 
Hoel-tsong,  of  the  Song  dynasty.  He  occupied  himself 
wholly  in  weaving  perfidious  plots.  He  died  in  exile  at 
Mo-tcheou.  Some  time  after,  while  the  Emperor  was  hunt 
ing,  there  fell  a  heavy  rain,  which  obliged  him  to  seek 
shelter  in  a  poor  man's  hut.  The  thunder  rolled  with 
violence ;  and  the  lightning  killed  a  man,  a  woman,  and  a 
little  boy.  On  the  backs  of  the  man  and  woman  were  found 
red  characters,  which  could  not  be  deciphered;  but  on 
the  back  of  the  little  boy  the  following  six  words  could  be 
read,  written  in  Tchouen  (antique")  characters:  TSE-TCH'IN- 
TGHA.NG-TCHUN-HEOU-CHIN, — which  mean:  "Child  of  the 
issue  of  Tchang-tchun,  who  was  a  rebellious  subject."  —  Le 


Glossary  197 

Livre  des  Recompenses  et  des  Peines,  traduit  par  Stanislas 
J alien,   p.    446. 

PAGAL.  —  The  ankle-ring  commonly  worn 
by  Hindoo  women ;  it  is  also  called 
nupur.  It  is  hollow,  and  contains  loose 
bits  of  metal,  which  tinkle  when  the 
foot  is  moved. 

SAN-HIEN.  —  A  three-stringed  Chinese  guitar. 
Its  belly  is  usually  covered  with  snake- 
skin. 

SIU-FAN-TI.  —  Literally,  "the  Sweeping  of 
the  Tombs,"  -the  day  of  the  general 
worship  of  ancestors ;  the  Chinese  ' '  All- 
Souls'."  It  falls  in  the  early  part  of 
April,  the  period  called  tsing-ming. 

TA-CHUNG  sz' .  —  Literally,  ' '  Temple  of  the 
Bell."  The  building  at  Pekin  so  named 
covers  probably  the  largest  suspended 
bell  in  the  world,  cast  in  the  reign  of 
Yong-lo,  about  i4o6  A.  D.,  and  weigh 
ing  upwards  of  120,000  pounds. 

TAO. — The  infinite  being,  or  Universal 
Life,  whence  all  forms  proceed :  Liter 
ally,  "the  Way,"  in  the  sense  of  the 


198  Glossary 

First  Cause.  Lao-tseu  uses  the  term 
in  other  ways ;  but  that  primal  and  most 
important  philosophical  sense  which  he 
gave  to  it  is  well  explained  in  the  cele 
brated  Chapter  XXV.  of  the  Tao-te-king. 
.  .  .  The  difference  between  the  great 
Chinese  thinker's  conception  of  the  First 
Cause  —  the  Unknowable,  —  and  the 
theories  of  other  famous  metaphysicians, 
Oriental  and  Occidental,  is  set  forth  with 
some  definiteness  in  Stanislas  Julien's 
introduction  to  the  Tao-te-king,  pp.  x-xv. 
("  Le  Livre  de  la  Voie  et  de  la  Vertu." 
Paris,  1842.) 

THANG. — The  Dynasty  of  Thang,  which 
flourished  between  620  and  907  A.D., 
encouraged  literature  and  art,  and  gave 
to  China  its  most  brilliant  period.  The 
three  poets  of  the  Thang  dynasty  men 
tioned  in  the  second  story  flourished 
between  779  and  85a  A.D. 

"THREE  COUNCILLORS." — Six  stars  of  the 
Great-Bear  constellation  (IK —  A/z,  —  j/f), 
as  apparently  arranged  in  pairs,  are  thus 


Glossary  199 

called  by  the  Chinese  astrologers  and 
mythologists.  The  three  couples  are 
further  distinguished  as  the  Superior 
Councillor,  Middle  Councillor,  and  In 
ferior  Councillor ;  and,  together  with 
the  Genius  of  the  Northern  Heaven, 
form  a  celestial  tribunal,  presiding  over 
the  duration  of  human  life,  and  deciding 
the  course  of  mortal  destiny.  (Note  by 
Stanislas  Julien  in  "  Le  Livre  des  Re 
compenses  et  dcs  Peines.") 
TiEN-HiA. — Literally,  "  Under-Heaven,'' 
or  "Beneath-the-Sky,"  — one  of  the  most 
ancient  of  those  many  names  given  by  the 
Chinese  to  China.  The  name  "China  "it 
self  is  never  applied  by  the  Black-haired 
Race  to  their  own  country,  and  is  supposed 
to  have  had  its  origin  in  the  fame  of 
the  first  Tsin  dynasty,  whose  founder, 
Tsin  Chi-Houang-ti,  built  the  Great,  or 
"Myriad-Mile,"  Wall,  twenty-two  and 
a  half  degrees  of  latitude  in  length.  .  .  . 
See  Williams  regarding  occurrence  of  the 
name  "China"  in  Sanscrit  literature. 


200  Glossary 

TSIEN. — The  well-known  Chinese  copper 
coin,  with  a  square  hole  in  the  middle 
for  stringing,  is  thus  named.  Accord 
ing  to  quality  of  metal  it  takes  from 
900  to  i, 800  tsien  to  make  one  silver 
dollar. 

TSING-JIN.  —  "  Men  of  Tsing."  From  very 
ancient  times  the  Chinese  have  been 
wont  to  call  themselves  hy  the  names  of 
their  famous  dynasties, — Han-jin,  "the 
men  of  Han  "  ;  Thang-jin,  "  the  men  of 
Thang,"  etc.  Ta  Tsing  Kwoh  ("  Great 
Pure  Kingdom")  is  the  name  given  by 
the  present  dynasty  to  China,  — accord 
ing  to  which  the  people  might  call 
themselves  Tsing-jin,  or  4'men  of  Tsing." 
Williams,  however,  remarks  that  they 
will  not  yet  accept  the  appellation. 

VERSES  (CHINESE). — The  verses  preceding 
"The  Legend  of  Tchi-Niu"  afford  some 
remarkable  examples  of  Chinese  onomat 
opoeia.  They  occur  in  the  sixth  strophe 
of  Mien-mien,  which  is  the  third  chant  of 
the  first  section  of  Ta-ya,  the  Third  Book 


Glossary  201 

of  the  Chi-King.  (See  G.  Pauthier's 
French  version.)  Dr.  Legge  translates 
tlie  strophe  thus :  — 

.  .  .  Crowds  brought  the  earth  in  baskets ;  they  threw 
it  with  shouts  into  the  frames ;  they  beat  it  with  responsive 
blows;  they  pared  the  walls  repeatedly  till  they  sounded 
strong.  —  Sacred  Books  of  the  East;  Vol.  III.,  The  She- 
Kincj,  p.  384. 

Pauthier  translates  the  verses  somewhat 
differently  ;  preserving  the  onomatopoeia 
in  three  of  the  lines.  Houng-houng  are 
the  sounds  heard  in  the  timber-yards 
where  the  wood  is  heing  measured ;  from 
the  workshops  of  the  builders  respond 
the  sounds  of  tong-long ;  and  the  solid 
walls,  when  fully  finished  off,  give  out 
the  sound  of  ping-ping. 

YAO.  —  "Porcelain."  The  reader  who 
desires  detailed  information  respecting 
the  technology,  history,  or  legends  of 
Chinese  porcelain-manufacture  should 
consult  Stanislas  Julien's  admirable  ' '  Ilis- 
toire  de  la  Porcelaine  Chinoise"  (Paris, 
i856).  With  some  trifling  exceptions, 


202  Glossary 

the  names  of  the  various  porcelains 
cited  in  my  "Tale  of  the  Porcelain-God" 
were  selected  from  Julien's  work. 
Though  oddly  musical  and  otherwise 
attractive  in  Chinese,  these  names  lose 
interest  by  translation.  The  majority 
of  them  merely  refer  to  centres  of  manu 
facture  or  famous  potteries  :  Chou-yao, 
"porcelains  of  Chou " ;  Hong-icheoa- 
yao,  ' '  porcelains  of  Hong-tcheou  " ;  Jou- 
yao,  "porcelains  of  Jou-tcheou"; 
Ting-yao,  « '  porcelains  of  Ting-tcheou  " ; 
Ko-yao,  "porcelains  of  the  Elder  Brother 
[Thsang]  "  ;  Khang-hi-nien-t'sang-yao, 
1 '  porcelains  of  Thsang  made  in  the  reign 
of  Khang-hi."  Some  porcelains  were 
distinguished  by  the  names  of  dynasties, 
or  the  titles  of  civic  office  holders ;  such 
as  the  celebrated  Tch'ai-yao,  "the  por 
celains  of  Tch'ai"  (which  was  the  name 
of  the  family  of  the  Emperor  Chi-tsong) ; 
and  the  Kouan-yao,  or  "Porcelains  of 
Magistrates."  Much  more  rarely  the 
names  refer  directly  to  the  material  or 


Glossary  203 

artistic  peculiarity  of  porcelains, — as 
Ou-ni-yao,  the  "  black-paste  porcelains," 
or  Pi-se-yao,  the  "  porcelains  of  hidden 
color."  The  word  khi,  sometimes  sub 
stituted  for  yao  in  these  compound 
names,  means  "vases";  as  Jou-khi, 
"vases  of  Jou-tcheou " ;  Kouan-khi, 
"vases  for  Magistrates." 


STORIES   AND   SKETCHES 
OF  JAPAN 

BY  LAFCADIO  HEARN 

In  Ghostly  Japan          A  Japanese  Miscellany 
Exotics  and  Retrospectives  Shadowings 

New  Popular  Editions.      Illustrated.      l6mo 
4  VOLS.   IN  BOX,  25.00 

IN  GHOSTLY  JAPAN 

Illustrated.  l6mo.   $1.25.   Original  Edition.    12mo.    $2.00 

CONTENTS 

Fragment  Ululation 

Furisode  Bits  of  Poetry 

Incense  Japanese  Buddhist  Proverbs 

A  Story  of  Divination  Suggestion 

Silkworms  Ingwa-Banashi 

A  Passional  Karma  Story  of  a  Tengu 

Footprints  of  the  Buddha      At  Yaidzu 

Thoughts  and  dreams  and  observations  that  are  ex 
quisite  beyond  words.  Almost  more  than  any  previous 
work,  these  sketches  take  one  into  the  very  heart  of 
Japanese  life.  —  New  Orleans  Times-Democrat. 

The  treatise  on  incense  is  a  revelation.  ...  No  one 
but  a  poet  of  the  rarest  imagination  could  comprehend 
the  significance  and  beauty  of  these  old  Japanese 
romances  and  legends.  —  Brooklyn  Life. 


WORKS    OF    LAFCADIO    HEARN 

EXOTICS  AND  RETROSPECTIVES 

Illustrated.      l6mo.      $1.25 

CONTENTS 
Exotics  Retrospective* 

Fuji-No-Yama  First  Impressions 

Insect-Musicians  Beauty  is  Memory 

A  Question  in  the  Zen  Texts   Sadness  in  Beauty 
Buddhist  Literature  of  the     Parfum  de  Jeunesse 

Dead  Azure  Psychology 

Frogs  A  Serenade 

Of  Moon-Desire  A  Red  Sunset 

Frisson 

Vespertina  Cognitio 
The  Eternal  Haunters 

If  one  were  to  attempt  any  adequate  quotation,  he 
would  quote  the  entire  book.  It  is  one  to  be  lived  with. 
—  LILIAN  WHITING,  in  the  Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

It  has  the  deep  azure  coloring  of  Fuji-San,  the  sacred 
mountain  ;  it  utters  the  chirping  note  of  Suzumushi,  the 
caged  insect ;  it  is  as  melodious  as  Kajika,  the  singing 
frog,  and  is  altogether  lovely.  —  Literary  World. 

Full  of  that  wonderful  power  of  vivid  portrayal  and 
of  poetic  fancy  that  makes  his  work  always  unique.  — 
New  Orleans  Picayune. 

The  essays  in  the  latter  portion  of  the  book,  which  are 
grouped  under  the  heading  of  "  Retrospectives,"  are 
psychological  and  aesthetic  in  character,  and  have  a  deli 
cacy  and  a  subtlety  that  are  delightful  —  Brooklyn  Life. 


WORKS    OF    LAFCADIO    HEARN 

SHADOWINGS 

Illustrated.    l6mo.   $1.25.   Original  edition.    I2mo.   $2.00 

CONTENTS 

STORIES  FROM  STRANGE  BOOKS 

1.  The  Reconciliation  4.  The  Corpse-Rider 

2.  A  Legend  of  Fugen-  5-  The  Sympathy  of  Benton 

Bosatsu  6.  The  Gratitude  of  the 

3.  The  Screen-Maiden  Samtbito 
JAPANESE  STUDIES 

1.  Semi  (Cicadae)  3.  Old  Japanese  Songs 

2.  Japanese  Female  Names 

FANTASIES 

1.  Noctilucae  5.  Nightmare  Touch 

2.  A  Mystery  of  Crowds  6.  Readings  from  a  Dream- 

3.  Gothic  Horror  Book 

4.  Levitation  7.  In  a  Pair  of  Eyes 

Japan,  under  the  pen  of  this  brilliant  writer,  becomes 
a  land  of  wonder,  of  haunting  exotic  mystery,  having 
little  in  common  with  the  Japan  of  ordinary,  superficial 
report.  — Baltimore  News. 

Constant  daily  association  with  the  Japanese,  and 
sympathetic  study  of  their  literature,  have  given  Mr. 
Hearn  an  insight  into  the  folklore  of  the  people  that  no 
other  foreigner  has  obtained.  —  San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

The  book  as  a  whole  is  stamped  with  the  Japanese 
sensitiveness  to  beauty,  and  is  very  suggestive  of  familiar 
ity  with  the  esoteric  and  unusual.  —  Outlook,  New  York. 


WORKS    OF    LAFCADIO    HEARN 


A  JAPANESE  MISCELLANY 

Illustrated.    l6mo.   $1.25.    Original  edition.    12mo.   $2.00 

COl  TENTS 

STRANGE  STORIES 

I.  Of  a  Promise  Kept  V.  The  Story  of  Umetsu 

II.  Of  a  Promise  Broken  Chubei 

III.  Before  the  Supreme  Court  VI.  The  Story  of  Kogi  the 

IV.  The  Story  of  Kwashin  Priest 

Koji 

FOLKLORE  GLEANINGS 
I.  Dragon-Flies 

II.  Buddhist  Nomenclature  of  Plants  and  Animals 
III.  Songs  of  Japanese  Children 
STUDIES  HERE  AND  THERE 
I.  On  a  Bridge  IV.  Drifting 

II.  The  Case  of  O-Dai  V.  Otokichi's  Daruma 

IH.  Beside  the  Sea  VI.  In  a  Japanese  Hospital 

A  book  which  breathes  from  its  every  page  the  life  of 
the  land  with  which  it  deals.  —  Newark  News. 

It  astonishes  as  much  as  it  delights  by  the  patient  and 
scholarly  research  revealed  in  every  page.  —  Los  Angeles 
Express. 

The  delicate  atmosphere  of  mystery,  as  elusive  as  the 
sunset  mist  of  an  Indian  summer  twilight,  pervades  this 
as  all  other  of  Mr.  Hearn's  fascinating  Japanese  story 
books.  —  Christian  Register,  Boston. 

LITTLE,  BROWN,  &  CO.,  Publishers 

254  WASHINGTON  STREET,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


OCT  241943 

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